Bad mite/lice infestation

[ozzy chooks]

Hello,
I was away for 4 weeks and when I came back on of my chickens had a very weird posture.
She was slow and walking with her bottom/belly almost on the ground and I noticed some feathers were missing in the belly area.
After a close inspection I found a mite/lice infestation - a very bad one.
I dusted her (with pestene).
I checked her again and a lot of eggs were still there after a week so I dusted her again.

She got better, but the mite/lice are still there, especially eggs around the feathers.
She eats and drinks and poops normally and runs for food.

Is there anything I should do other than dusting? I suspect this time it got unnoticed for a long time while I was away.

I dealt before with lice and after dusting once, the chicken was OK. But this time there are soooo many eggs.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Thank you!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hello,
I was away for 4 weeks and when I came back on of my chickens had a very weird posture.
She was slow and walking with her bottom/belly almost on the ground and I noticed some feathers were missing in the belly area.
After a close inspection I found a mite/lice infestation - a very bad one.
I dusted her (with pestene).
I checked her again and a lot of eggs were still there after a week so I dusted her again.

She got better, but the mite/lice are still there, especially eggs around the feathers.
She eats and drinks and poops normally and runs for food.

Is there anything I should do other than dusting? I suspect this time it got unnoticed for a long time while I was away.

I dealt before with lice and after dusting once, the chicken was OK. But this time there are soooo many eggs.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Thank you!

Treat in 7 day intervals. Did you clean out housing/nesting boxes and treat those too?
If you have lots of eggs, that sounds like lice. I've never tried it, but some have reported some results getting the eggs off by applying coconut oil, this helps dissolves some of the "glue".
Does she dust bath?

You mention that she was slow walking with her bottom almost on the ground - has that improved? Does she lay eggs? Is her belly swollen or bloated? How old is she?

 

[ozzy chooks]

She is almost 2 y and a half.
She is not laying but she hasn't laid since she moulted 10 months ago.
Her posture has improved in the past week, but still odd.
Her belly seems Ok, not swollen nor bloated.
She dust bathes. She is also spending a lot of time seated on her belly.

I might try the coconut oil.
Thank you

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She is almost 2 y and a half.
She is not laying but she hasn't laid since she moulted 10 months ago.
Her posture has improved in the past week, but still odd.
Her belly seems Ok, not swollen nor bloated.
She dust bathes. She is also spending a lot of time seated on her belly.

I might try the coconut oil.
Thank you

Can you post a photo of her?
Not laying eggs for 10 months, having an odd posture and spending a lot of time on her belly, I would suspect she also has a reproductive disorder. Could be internal laying, EYP or similar. There really is no treatment for repro issues, so you are on the right track to make her comfortable - getting rid of the lice is important. Normally I just make sure mine are eating/drinking, their crop is empty in the mornings, check regularly for lice/mites and as long as they are relatively active, seem happy within themselves, I just monitor them.

 

[RoosterML]

Not sure what your using to dust her with as I don’t know what that product you listed is. Don’t treat just one chicken. I would treat them all with a Permethrin type product. Back of neck, under wings, and vent area. Won’t be an overnight fix as eggs may hatch. As @Wyorp Rock said repeat in 5-7 days. May take several applications. Good luck.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Not sure what your using to dust her with as I don’t know what that product you listed is. Don’t treat just one chicken. I would treat them all with a Permethrin type product. Back of neck, under wings, and vent area. Won’t be an overnight fix as eggs may hatch. As @Wyorp Rock said repeat in 5-7 days. May take several applications. Good luck.

OP is using Pestene which is a common lice/mite treatment found in other countries. The OP is in AUSTRALIA.
Some products that we have here are not available or they are banned in other countries.
Sounds lice the active lice are gone, it's just the eggs left. Even permethrin won't kill those, the lice would have to hatch for it to be effective.

 

[ozzy chooks]

Thank you.

Here in Australia, Pestene is the common product for dusting.
If it helps here are some specifications
Pestene powder is effective against lice, mites and fleas in poultry, dogs, cats, horses, calves and goats. Composition: Sulfur 50 g/kg, rotenone 10 g/kg.
This is a pdf I found of the label:
https://www.citifarm.com.au/images/Pestene_Powder_Label.pdf

 

[ozzy chooks]

Can you post a photo of her?
Not laying eggs for 10 months, having an odd posture and spending a lot of time on her belly, I would suspect she also has a reproductive disorder. Could be internal laying, EYP or similar. There really is no treatment for repro issues, so you are on the right track to make her comfortable - getting rid of the lice is important. Normally I just make sure mine are eating/drinking, their crop is empty in the mornings, check regularly for lice/mites and as long as they are relatively active, seem happy within themselves, I just monitor them.

The hen hasn't been laying in 10 months but her posture was normal until before I went away, i.e. a month ago. Only since I came back and found lice she spends time on her belly and has a weird posture.

She might have a reproductive issue but now she definitely has lice. Not sure the 2 things are related.

I had checked for egg bound or other possible diseases after she molted and hadn't started laying 10 months ago but found nothing.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The hen hasn't been laying in 10 months but her posture was normal until before I went away, i.e. a month ago. Only since I came back and found lice she spends time on her belly and has a weird posture.

She might have a reproductive issue but now she definitely has lice. Not sure the 2 things are related.

I had checked for egg bound or other possible diseases after she molted and hadn't started laying 10 months ago but found nothing.

Often a chicken that is not well, is more prone to getting a lice/mite infestation.

 

[aart]

She got better, but the mite/lice are still there, especially eggs around the feathers.

So you are still seeing live bugs moving around on her skin?
Are they lice or mites...or both?
Some mites live in the coop structure and only feed on birds at night.
Is she your only chicken?
You need to treat all the birds you have.