Are Some Lice Ever OK?

[Dreammaker]

Once again, I come here seeking the wisdom of BYC.

So... my 6 pullets (6-7 months) have lice. Only around their vents and not terrible. In fact, one has nothing... so far. I see mainly nits around a few feather shafts. One bird had a couple live lice crawling around. They aren't free ranged, but have a spacious coop and run. They dust bathe in plain old dirt and peat moss. Our 2 confirmed layers are laying normally. They all seem happy enough. I have no idea how they got these... which brings me to my question...

Is a certain amount of lice ever normal/OK? In an otherwise healthy chicken, can they just go away on their own without any ill effect? I have permethrin concentrate and new bedding ready to go. I plan to do a thorough treatment of the coop and birds tomorrow, including the nesting boxes. I admittedly look at my chickens' bums more than most (1-3× a week, as I'm trying to suss out who's laying a "mystery" egg lately and who's getting ready to lay) so had I not been so attentive, I wonder if I'd just miss them entirely and they'd have resolved on their own.

 

[swamphiker]

Lice (and other parasites) spread from wild birds to chickens, so most chickens that go outdoors are likely to deal with them. There is a spectrum of attitudes about treating chicken parasites. Some folks only treat if there is an infestation, some treat their flock regularly no matter what. There are a variety of treatments out there, including natural remedies like diatomaceous earth.

A lot of this will depend on your environment. Parasites thrive in my warm and humid environment (Florida), so I treat my flock with topical ivermectin once a year to keep things from getting out of hand. Regardless of what you decide, it's excellent that you are checking on them regularly!

 

[Dreammaker]

Lice (and other parasites) spread from wild birds to chickens, so most chickens that go outdoors are likely to deal with them. There is a spectrum of attitudes about treating chicken parasites. Some folks only treat if there is an infestation, some treat their flock regularly no matter what. There are a variety of treatments out there, including natural remedies like diatomaceous earth.

A lot of this will depend on your environment. Parasites thrive in my warm and humid environment (Florida), so I treat my flock with topical ivermectin once a year to keep things from getting out of hand. Regardless of what you decide, it's excellent that you are checking on them regularly!

Thanks for your response! The fact that they never free range has me stumped. I suppose, though, that they somewhat share the environment with wild birds and maybe that's enough. My husband and I are debating whether a full coop clean-out is necessary, given that lice tend to congregate on the birds themselves as opposed to hiding out on roosting bars and other wood elements like mites (I'm pretty sure it's not mites, but thankfully our wood is all caulked and painted anyway). Being that there isn't a huge infestation at this point, maybe we'll see how we do with just a standard tidying, a quick "bath" with Dawn soap and water near their vents to remove nits, a spray of diluted permethrin on the girls, and a good helping of wood ash in their dust bath.

I'm in New England, so their vents are the only warm and humid environment this time of year. Makes sense the lice would find their way there!

Thanks again!

 

[aart]

Being that there isn't a huge infestation at this point, maybe we'll see how we do with just a standard tidying, a quick "bath" with Dawn soap and water near their vents to remove nits, a spray of diluted permethrin on the girls

The egg cases(nits) won't likely come off with a Dawn bath.
Don't screw around with anything but permethrin, 2-3 treatments at 7 days apart.

 

[Dreammaker]

The egg cases(nits) won't likely come off with a Dawn bath.
Don't screw around with anything but permethrin, 2-3 treatments at 7 days apart.

Ah, ok. Thanks! I was hopeful Dawn would help. My idea behind it was that since permethrin doesn't kill eggs, I could try to mechanically remove them by washing with Dawn and water. I had also considered olive oil for the same reason (to smother, loosen, and pick 'em off... fun!). Mainly just to eliminate the # of future lice I have to deal with on the 2nd or 3rd treatment.

I'll stick to 2-3 treatments 7 days apart for sure. Along with that, do you feel it's necessary to completely remove the coop bedding and start over, given lice hang out on the birds vs. in their coops? It's pine shavings in a "deep litter" style, turned and topped off periodically but not removed (I wasn't planning a full removal/clean-out 'til spring).

 

[aart]

Along with that, do you feel it's necessary to completely remove the coop bedding and start over, given lice hang out on the birds vs. in their coops?

Not for lice, no.

 

[Dreammaker]

Not for lice, no.

Nice! My husband will be happy to hear that!

 

[Dreammaker]

Update: At least 1 of the birds has nits near her vent (haven't checked all). This is after 2 permethrin sprays, each a week apart, and a coop clean out just for good measure. At this point, it's been about 10 days since the last treatment. I thought we'd be in the clear by now. I will try one more spray, tomorrow at the earliest, as I won't have time today before dusk. Should I wait a few more days until the lice actually hatch, since permethrin doesn't kill eggs anyway?

Am I doing something wrong in my chicken-keeping? I simply don't have the time to treat and clean the coop every week indefinitely. The couple others that I've checked are fine so far.

Note: I've been leaning my rake and shovel against the outside of the coop; they touch the ground (these are the tools I use to turn litter and rake their run). Is it possible they're getting lice from wild birds that way??

At a loss and feeling so defeated