Are these some kind of egg clusters?

[Michael Apple]

so they are eggs! lice eggs at that. yuck!!

how long do they take to hatch? just so i know when to do a second treatment.

i am taking the birds home in coop batches. whilst the coop is empty the floors are getting bleached or shovelled to bare earth depending on the coop position.
i am spraying with pymethrin that lasts 3 months, it is a high grade insecticidal spray, not the usual off the shelf stuff.
DE'ing under and over the bedding.
the birds are being bathed one by one at home with tea tree shampoo and conditioner, dried with the hairdryer, picking all the dead bodies off as i am drying.
they stay at my house overnight to dry a little better.
the next day i have a pink powder for farmyard lice and other mites. i dust them and rub it down to their skin.
i hope i am doing enough.

Pyrethrins are good for controlling lice and mites on the bird and on premises. Depending on the strength of your pyrethrin, a mixture is often indicated on the label for use on poultry. Once I had an infestation of mites and dipped birds up to their necks in a pyrethrin water solution on a hot day to avoid chilling. I then removed all shavings from the floor and nests, vacuumed up dust, and treated the floors, roosts, walls, and nest boxes with a pump sprayer containing the appropriate strength pyrethrin solution. Most have a residual of about 28 days.

I've never heard of tea tree oil as an effective mite/lice repellent. Some have used neem based products with success. I don't want to see resistance to pyrethrins happen, so I go back and forth with a couple different products. Some people are totally opposed to synthetic chemicals and try to do everything with organic chemicals. Good intentions on their part, but I've found substances like diatomaceous earth useless, and it is a harsh irritant to the bird's respiratory system once it gets in the air sac. Pyrethrin and Rabon are very effective and safe provided they are labeled for use around poultry. Like all chemicals, organic or synthetic, it is when people use them improperly and don't follow directions, that they can become dangerous.

 

[suebgbr]

i didn't know that about DE!
if they start wheezing what do i do as i have been throwing it around like confetti!
also how can you tell if the lice eggs are live ones or old casings of ones that have hatched?

 

[Michael Apple]

i didn't know that about DE!
if they start wheezing what do i do as i have been throwing it around like confetti!
also how can you tell if the lice eggs are live ones or old casings of ones that have hatched?

I wouldn't worry about that. Just stop spreading DE in the nests and in the coop. Some feed mills add DE to feed rations, but it is contained in a pellet or crumbled form of pellet in limited amounts. They believe it lessens the probability of intestinal worms, and it may, though it doesn't guarantee it. Don't worry about the egg casings. If you've chosen to dust, just dust them again in a week. Hatching time for lice eggs is generally 6-9 days. Dusts don't destroy eggs, whereas residual sprays do. Good job spotting this before the infestation got worse.

Most chickens find an area they like to dust in. Mine have created a few areas on my property where they like to dust themselves. They'll excavate the dirt and have a great time. This is important for them.

 

[LittleBits]

Are permethrin and pyrethrin the same thing? What I looked up stated they were in the "same family" of chemicals. If they're not the exact same thing, which is best for chickens?

What is the egg withdrawal time for these products? I treated ours in August w/ permethrin and the label did not say anything about withdrawal of eggs, although I did for 14d along with the 1st worming.

I don't see any bugs of any type on them, but they still have this feather loss (for several months, not growing back much at all...might be molting but not for that long!) and they are either scratching or preening all the time. I've looked at night, in their feathers, around the vents, all over, but nothing is there... Coop, roosts, everything was dusted VERY thoroughly at the time.

This is what I used: Is there something better I should use? Should I treat again "just in case"? Is there anything not very expensive to help with feather growth?

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Quote: They're dead because you drowned them in soapy water.
You don't need the chemicals at all

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Pyrethrins are good for controlling lice and mites on the bird and on premises.

Some people are totally opposed to synthetic chemicals and try to do everything with organic chemicals. Good intentions on their part, but I've found substances like diatomaceous earth useless, and it is a harsh irritant to the bird's respiratory system

The last time I checked there was no egg withdrawal period for Pyrethrins but there is a 14 day mandatory egg withdrawal period for Sevin insecticide when used for mite control in chickens. So I guess you gets to pay your money and then takes your chances with Sevin.

BTY, the active ingredient in the Marigolds that Hippies have used for years to deter insect pest from eating their tomatoes is the same active ingredient found in Pyrethrin insecticides. Who out there would have thunk it?

 

[dawg53]

Quote: The last time I checked there was no egg withdrawal period for Pyrethrins but there is a 14 day mandatory egg withdrawal period for Sevin insecticide when used for mite control in chickens. So I guess you gets to pay your money and then takes your chances with Sevin.

BTY, the active ingredient in the Marigolds that Hippies have used for years to deter insect pest from eating their tomatoes is the same active ingredient found in Pyrethrin insecticides. Who out there would have thunk it?

There's a 7 day withdrawal period using sevin insecticides. Here's a link, scroll down to page 4 of 6 close to the bottom of the page. We've been using sevin insecticides since the 60's in our gardens, on our dogs and chickens. Still here alive and typing. Like any food product, even store bought fruits and vegetables bought at the grocery store, wash them off before consuming.
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/29874841/Chicken-Withdrawal-Time-Chart

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Having lice and having health issues associated with them are not always the same. My birds likely have low lice burdens but show no outward negative health issues. Management versus eradication can be different endpoints with former being less costly and easier on birds.....

In agriculture speak there are two kinds of actions used for pest destruction, control and management.

1. Control: Control means that you try to kill everything but the chickens, or maybe the grass, and then let the almighty sort out the saints from the sinners.

2. Management: The idea behind management is to keep the pest load low and hold economic damages down to an acceptable level. Look up the term "Integrated Pest Management" or Best Management Practices.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Quote:

They believe it lessens the probability of intestinal worms, and it may, though it doesn't guarantee it

DE is added in a powder form to help kill insects in the grains, and help keep the grain dry so it flows well through automated systems.

It has NO EFFECT on internal parasites, and only has a "Food Grade" rating because it's difficult to remove from the grains:
http://spiru.cgahr.ksu.edu/proj/iwcspp/pdf2/9/6250.pdf


Quote:

 

[chickengeorgeto]

There's a 7 day withdrawal period using sevin insecticides. Here's a link, scroll down to page 4 of 6 close to the bottom of the page. We've been using sevin insecticides since the 60's in our gardens, on our dogs and chickens. Still here alive and typing. Like any food product, even store bought fruits and vegetables bought at the grocery store, wash them off before consuming.
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/29874841/Chicken-Withdrawal-Time-Chart

LOL I could not agree more. Like you, I am still setting here typing after a life time of Sevin use on the garden, the dog, the chickens, and squirting what had to be gallons of Black Leaf 40 under thousands of wings, and don't forget 20 or so years of spraying DDT on cotton. I just can't tap dance any longer, well I never could tap dance to begin with. But the DDT or else the Black Leaf 40 did cause all my children to be born naked, so if you or your wife is expecting watch out.

I was just reporting to the best of my poor memory what that encyclopedia that comes glued to the side of every thimble full of insecticide says. Yea I may have miss-remembered the exact time for egg withdrawal but every bite of food that is sold in every grocery store on Earth has definitely been sprayed with something poisonous before it got to the produce section. Just some poisons are not looked at as poisons by some supposedly smart people who evidently don't know how to wash their own food.