Bantams have BUGS

[mochicken]

I was checking the health of my bantams like I do about every week by picking up each one and inspecting their feet and faces and I decided to brush up their feathers and they have little tan bugs on them, I am assuming chicken lice? maybe mites? What do I do?


PS I know my coop is clean and they are on a movable tractor that gets moved every day, I got them a month or so ago from people who had about 200 bantams in a small dirty cage, I bought 22 and sold several ( I will be contacting the people who bought them to tell them that they need whatever treatment you all say I need )

I just wanted to make it clear that I take great care of my chickens, unfortunately the last people didnt. Fortunately they are kept separate from my other chickens and I will be checking them today to make sure they dont have it too.

 

[raykour1]

You just need to get some poultry dust and dust them and the coop. I have had lice on my chickens every once in awhile and the dust always does the trick. If they look like moving grains of yellow rice then those are lice. Usually, mites aren't too easy to see.

Your local feed store should have some Livestock and Poultry dust. I usually turn them over and dust their belly/vent area since that is where the buggies seem to congregate the most. It just has to get to the skin though and then there is some absorption.

 

[mochicken]

should I treat my standard flock too? Also will that hurt to eat eggs ( assuming my pullets decide to give me any ) lol

 

[terryg]

I have some really good photos of lice on my website,
http://www.hencam.com/henblog/2008/05/lice/
and here:
http://www.hencam.com/henblog/2010/05/of-lice-and-hens/

also info about what to do if your chickens have external parasites.
http://www.hencam.com/henblog/2011/02/the-chickens-have-lice/

Chickens get lice. A few crawling around isn't a big deal.But, when you see those "q-tip feathers" and lots crawling you have a problem. Either the housing is damp and crowded, they have no access to a proper dust bath, or you have a sick chicken that doesn't have the energy to dust bathe. Always look for the underlying cause!

 

[mochicken]

Thanks for the advice and links Terry, I looked into their coop and made sure that its all clean, I have sand in my coop floor in the bantams and the standards, I also have 3 inches of sand in their runs, I would think they would take plenty of dust baths but I don't watch them enough to know if they are dust bathing.

I will be treating them and go ahead and treat the standards too just in case. The bantams I have checked had only a couple to a few bugs, I didnt see any clusters of eggs.

 

[georgeandmildredgoose]

is anyone else itching now?, or just me!

 

[SilkieBantams]

I'd recommend using Sevin dust to treat and kill any mites.

 

[Wynette]

There is a dust made specifically for poultry - it's inexpensive & really works well. You could also use Ivermec Eprinex (get the Eprinex and not the less expensive pour-on if you go this route). I really prefer this to dust, because it ALSO kills worms if they have them. You can do a search on here to find other treatments, as well.

ETA: it certainly doens't mean you don't take care of your chickens - they can get parasites easily from the wild bird population. So - if your chickens live outdoors, as most of ours on BYC do, they're exposed. Best to establish a regular treatment program (I treat eveyr 6 months). I do not eat eggs for 2 weeks after treatment.

 

[flashover1969]

This is the stuff I use....the active ingredient is permethrin and it works quite well

 

[Chic_girl]

Hey! I made an earlier post on this same issue. Two days ago, we completly covered ALL of my chickens, and both coop and run in poultry dust. I have been checking every day since then for mites. THEY STILL HAVE MITES!! I gave it a few days for the dust to 'settle in' their feathers, but I don't know if its working or not.
How long does mite dust take to get rid of mites on the birds?
Does it kill mites or just repell them?
Would reapplying so soon make my chickens sick with all of the dust?
How long should I wait until I reapply?

Thanks for any help! I feel so bad for my birds having itchy butts all the time...