Anyone know of a natural lice treatment that WORKS???

[Tracydr]

You might try washing with Bonners Castille peppermint soap and then using DE. But, one way or the other, you're going to have to handle the hens. Just catch them at night on the roosts and they'll be like zombies. I've even caught semi-wild peacocks and guineas this way.
Only thing with the castille and DE is you may need to do multiple treatments. Even with seven or permethrin you have to retreatr in ten days to get eggs that hatch.
Make sure you keep the coop dusted with DE as well.
Part of prevention is good nutrition. Are they getting plenty of fresh, whole feed? Sprouts, hard boiled eggs, yogurt, berries, squash, stuff that's good for you and lots of variety. Not just stale chicken feed. Boosting the immune system will help them fight parasites, just like young and sickly older cats and dogs are more prone to fleas.

 

[gale65]

Quote:
In light of the fact that the OP wants to remain pesticide free, the options listed aren't appropriate. I've never had lice in my flocks, but if I did, I would apply Nu-Stock in places under the wings, base of the tail and around the vent and then I would dust with garlic powder like one would dust with Sevin. I'd also place a little(and I mean a little) cedar chips under the nesting bedding and place some Nu-Stock on the roosts.

You might also find someone who heats with wood and provide a dusting box in your coop filled with wood ash...it's a great preventative. YOu might also lace your nesting bedding with the wood ashes as well.

Nu-Stock is a goopy substance comprised of mineral oil, pine tar and sulfur that you can buy online at their site or much cheaper at a feed store or TSC.

That's good to know. We do heat with wood and get plenty of ashes every winter-usually they get dumped in the garden. Does it matter what kind of wood is burned?

 

[Beekissed]

Not really. My birds simply LOVE dusting in the ashes and the barn swallows keep dipping down into the ash pile and eating something from it, so who knows what benefits these birds derive from these ashes? I do know that you can give your pigs or sheep a well-charred piece of wood and they will eat all the charcoal from it....they say it is a natural antihelminic.

 

[kittykat01]

Thankyou for your help everyone!

I thought I had the cleanliness and nutrition side of things handled - they eat Barastock layer mash (which also contains grains), free range all day, have kitchen scraps, and I put garlic granules and apple cider vinegar in their water. Coop is concrete floor with straw or sugar cane mulch (which is removed weekly and then hosed out). They free range in a grassed area which I hose every afternoon, dust bath in fresh dirt which I also hose daily. I haven't seen any wild birds in the coop/ free range area except for a brush turkey, so I am beginning to thing they must have had lice / eggs on them when I bought them..... (have only had them for 4 weeks). All of the girls eat well and are growing well. They all have glossy feathers except the 2 x 6 wk olds.

I will bath as many as I can catch today (more entertainment for my neighbours who already think I am crazy!!!) with castille soap and neem and see what happens. I am thinking that I will have to go down the chemical route and get some sevin / pestene or ivermectin... oh well....just want my girls to be healthy, happy chookies

Do the eggs have to be thrown out if I treat the chickens with sevin or ivermectin? How long should I discard them for?

Thanks

 

[Lollipop]

Hmmm, thought I`d learned something new, but I looked up Nu-Stock and found it is oily and for mange, ringworm, etc. I stand by my statement that Sevin is the way to go and that DE is practically useless on poultry applications. especially when a proven safe product like Sevin Dust is available and inexpensive.......Pop

Edit to say: Some say there is a withdrawal period of 2-3 weeks with Ivermec, but the actuall dosage is so small that it`s doubtfull. No withdrawall with Sevin.

 

[Beekissed]

Most folks don't like Sevin absorbing topically into their birds and consequently any eggs they produce.

The Nu-Stock isn't oily though it does contain mineral oil...it doesn't stay oily and absorbs into the skin quite well. I did say to apply it only to areas that have few feathers like under the wings, around the vent and the base of the tail. It is not just for mange, but for any number of parasites....worked miracles for scaly leg mites with one treatment and they never came back. A mite is very little different than lice, as they are both vampiric.



I wouldn't use Sevin anywhere on my property, let alone on the animals that provide my food.

 

[Illia]

Yep, something I think everyone here is forgetting is that Sevin is NOT a natural, non-pesticide method.


I always hear good about DE used as a preventative, but personally, I'd like to know how to prevent or get rid of the issue if your birds are NOT in a coop and run that confines their choice of where they dust bathe.

I free range my birds on a very wild looking pasture, they get fresh produce all the time, and still, I have a few with lice. I'm treating them the non-natural way right now with a spray because I've no other choice, but I too would love to know what natural choice I have.

PS - My girls do not bathe in one area, so I doubt DE is a good option for me.

 

[Lollipop]

Quote:
Bee, anykind of oil, from Nu-Stock to veggie oil or even used motor oil will kill leg mites. To kill them all ya gotta do is drown them. I`ve used Sevin for lice/mites on countless broody hens with chicks and never had a problem with one chick. It works in every application I have ever used it on, with great results. Of course you can use whatever works for you. I`m just promoting Sevin because it has always been the best and safest, in my experience........Pop

 

[gale65]

Quote:
x2 for us. We made the conscious decision 15 yrs ago when we first had kids to not use chemicals on our yard or garden and I have a hard time justifying do that now. For now though, I will stick with DE and wood ash (thanks so much for that info!) and if we see anything, I'll find the least toxic solution possible. I feel like since permethrins can be used on domestic dogs, it's safe enough (in my mind) to use on the chickens.

 

[Beekissed]

Lollipop, I beg to differ. I tried vaseline, bag balm, tea tree, vicks, WD-40, vegetable and olive oil on the leg mites my birds had....thorougly coated and even dipped their whole legs into the oils. Not a one worked. Finally found Nu-Stock down at the feed store and gave it a try. One application. I was deeply impressed, as only a woman who has treated 30 heavy breed chickens 7-10 different times(some of the treatments I tried twice) can be....not my idea of a fun time to hold my wild free rangers and try to slather oils into their scales 10 different times with absolutely no results.

Nu-Stock. One treatment. I'd shout it on the roof tops every time for this reason alone...but it also caused a near miraculous healing to my CX chicks deep lacerations without any evidence of their wounds left behind. It helped with my cat's ear mites when nothing else had worked...all the oils, both medicated and not...with ONE treatment. I put it on my dog's hot spot and it was gone in a matter of days with new hair growth and smooth, healthy skin left behind. No return of symptoms.

I've used it on my own wounds when nothing else was helping and the next day the inflammation was gone and I have no scarring left after a rapid recovery of the area. My aunt used it on a fungal plaque on her forehead and it is reducing it....the doctors said they couldn't even remove it with laser surgery.

You may have not learned anything new, but I sure have...I'll never travel anywhere in the world to live without a big ol' tube of Nu-Stock in my bag.