We recently found our new 3 bantams are infested with what we think is lice or mites, there are small light brown ones around their butt's but we just found some small white ones around one of our silkies eyes, I just cleaned her off with some water and they seemed to of come right off, I am wondering if they are freshly hatches. We got recommendations to use 'Adam's Lice wash' that is generally used on dogs and cats, but when I went to get some it disturbed me when I read that if humans get any on their skin to immediatly wash themselves for 15-20 minutes until it was completely off and their was no irritation, so I avoided getting the wash. If others have used it I would feel more confident using it on our girls, they are still pretty young and I am against using chemicals on them. Right now we have mixed DE in with their new bedding, and I bought a spray that is bird speific to lice and mite, we spray it under their wings and around their butts twice a week, I have also read that using Sevin is a good idea, but there are mixed reviews. We just want to get rid of this infestation that has taken over our smaller girls. Any thoughts would be much appreciated!
You can buy poultry dust or spray in most feed stores. I think you will find the ingredients are much the same as Adam's. DE may be helpful in preventing lice and mites but will definitely not kill an infestation. Sevin is also not recommended for animals, but is used frequently and is the recommended treatment. Remember that it's not necessarily that these products are bad for chickens, but that they have not been tested. Most wormers used on chickens are not labeled for them, either. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=472405 http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0018.html
