chicken lice

[chickenlover37]

does anyone know what the best thing is to use to get rid of chicken lice?

 

[quarrymaster]

I use diatomateous earth , ashes from fireplace , and a 2# bag of Sevin . I place it in a 55 gal. drum (plastic that I cut in half . and bury in ground)...it kills mites , chiggers , ticks etc etc......

 

[Uniontown Poultry]

You have a lot of options: 1) a warm bath with mild soap 2) dust them with DE (diatomaceous earth), put it in their litter, dust baths and nest box; 3) parasite control sprays for poultry that you can buy at the feed store, and 4) Ivomec (aka ivermectin) - a pest control that is used for cattle & usually comes in an injectible solution that you drop on the skin on their neck, like you would for dogs.

DE and Ivomec control more than just lice. DE is said to work on worms and mites as well, and Ivomec works on mites and scaley leg mites, but not worms. There is a withdrawal period for Ivomec but I don't know what it is offhand. You'll have to be careful on the dosing, as they can overdose. Lots of info on the boards here abour using DE and about ivermectin. Hope this helps!

 

[mycutekitties]

I use frontline for prevention of lice and mites.

 

[KeilFamilyFarm]

We use DE and it works great We also use it for our dogs!

 

[dawg53]

does anyone know what the best thing is to use to get rid of chicken lice?

Sevin dust. After the initial dusting, redust them again in 7-10 days. Dust the coop roosts and nests, redust again in 7-10 days. $4.97 for a 1 pound canister at Lowe's.

 

[darin367]

after you get tired of dusting your birds, takes alot of time, breathing dust etc etc........... you'll buy a bottle of ivermectin pour on for cattle.....get the pour on, not injectable.... 12 bucks, will last years....... get an eye dropper, put 3 or 4 drops on the skin, between wings on back...... that's it your done...... lice, mites, fleas, and worms them........ nothing is quicker or easier or effective......

 

[daproper]

Does anyone know how often you can apply the Ivermectin and how fast it works? We're heading to fair in three weeks and just found out we have lice. Thanks!!

 

[LilyD]

Does anyone know how often you can apply the Ivermectin and how fast it works? We're heading to fair in three weeks and just found out we have lice. Thanks!!

I am in a similar boat. Have never had any issues with anything since I got chickens. My son was holding his rooster (who never leaves the coop for some odd reason) and had one crawl on his arm. I am wondering if I dust the coop with DE and then dose with the ivermectin how often do I have to reapply it to the birds. Also does the ivermectin mean I have to stop collecting eggs or is it okay to still collect because it's topical?

 

[ChickPrincess]

I am in a similar boat. Have never had any issues with anything since I got chickens. My son was holding his rooster (who never leaves the coop for some odd reason) and had one crawl on his arm. I am wondering if I dust the coop with DE and then dose with the ivermectin how often do I have to reapply it to the birds. Also does the ivermectin mean I have to stop collecting eggs or is it okay to still collect because it's topical?

I'm very curious about this too! Thanks for asking. I'll be following the post.