Yesterday, I spent 6 1/2 hours cleaning out my coops, suited, booted, shower cap, goggles and mask in 86 degree heat, spraying with permethrin and dusting 25 chickens with permethrin poultry dust. This was my second infestation in two months with what I believe are lice (small grey bugs)? They are either coming from my crooked beak who can't groom herself properly or the bale of straw I have put down twice in the runs after a lot of rain? I changed all the bedding, AGAIN, sprinkled with DE. I plan on spraying my crooked beak every week now with the Mama Pro Poultry Protector and I will NEVER put straw down again! If I get lice again, I swear I'm going to cry! So, a couple of questions I hope you experts can answer for me......... I have to dust the chickens again in 3 weeks......right? to kill the cycle? What do I do with Big Mama and her two week old chicks? I have her in a dog kennel in my dining room where she has been for the last month. I don't think she had the lice but I have a feeling I may have brought them in to her? Do I dust her with the poultry dust? Will it harm the chicks? What do I do with the chicks? Please advise........any other tips would be greatly appreciated
Does anybody know what or how do these lice or/mites get started in the first place. What preventive meaures can be taken to ward this type the thing off? I had rather prevent it than fight it.
So sorry for your head aches! I think you have to retreat the coop and chickens in a week to break the cycle of Lice/mite eggs hatching. I don't know about the chicks. Good luck. I am sure someone will post a reply soon!
Yes, they can be coming from the straw. For your coops, try getting some Orange Guard, a citrus oil based spray that is safe around the chickens to spray in cracks and crevices. Smells wonderful and gets in all those tight spaces. ACE carries it and if it's not on their shelves, they can get it in for you. Spray especially around the roost in the cracks where things live and come out at night to get on your birds. Maybe it will do a better job for you.
Thanks so much for replying to my post with tips and advise. I'll dust again in a week, spray our little crooked beak every week and NEVER put straw down again! I also plan on searching for the Orange Guard today.....anyone living in Chesapeake, Va, that knows where I can get it?
Look for any ACE Hardware, online or any store. Surely there is one somewhere within driving distance. They carry it. It even kills termites, which I found out when they infested some trim that had dirt piled around it on the coop. Didn't want to spray real poison there and it wiped them out. Termites are tough, too! There may be some other citrus oil natural insecticide if you absolutely cannot find Orange Guard, but I know it is safe. I use it at every coop clean out.
Does anybody know what or how do these lice or/mites get started in the first place Mostly from other birds: Bionomics Chicken mite (Dermanyssus gallinae). Best-known of the mites infesting poultry, the chicken mite is found on the birds only when it is feeding, which is normally at night. In the daytime it hides in cracks and crevices in the vicinity of the roost. The chicken mite will feed freely on many other birds, including pigeons, canaries, sparrows, swallows, doves and wrens. When the mite attacks humans it causes mild dermatitis and itching. Cases of dermatitis caused by this mite are common in rural areas, but infestations also occur in urban areas. These include instances where the infestations can be traced to pet canaries, pigeons and nests of other wild birds or in which the death of the bird host or its departure from the nest instigated the attack on humans. It is believed that this species can live for several months without food. Northern fowl mite (Ornithonyssus sylvarium). Although very similar to the chicken mite in appearance, the northern fowl mite differs in that it breeds among the feathers of the host and may complete development without leaving the host. It is not necessary for this mite to stay on the host, however, and it may be found in nests, or roost areas, and in surrounding cracks and crevices. It can survive for two or three weeks away from the host. This mite may bite humans, causing some annoyance but infrequently dermatitis. The problem most frequently is irritation from the occasional bites inflicted by wandering mites. The mite is a general parasite of birds, being found on domestic fowl, sparrows, swallows and many other avian species throughout the temperate region. Human annoyance is frequently associated with the absence of the normal host bird, leaving an infestation of mites in the nest area without a convenient source of food. http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/fasulo/vector/chapter_05.htm
