Coop and chickens infested with lice, pretty badly, need a little help.

[MelissaRose]

Hello all!
I don't know how this happened, my Dad has been taking care of the chickens and I have not been checking them for lice. Today I treated a pullet for what I think is worms, she is pale losing weight and is not active. Does a lot of sleeping. I picked her up and held her when I was putting the wormer in her mouth. Afterward I noticed a ton of lice, pretty big actually, crawling all over my in the area that she had been touching me. I assume that all of the chickens and the coop are like this. What should I do? Help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
~MelissaRose

 

[MelissaRose]

Also, the ones with beards have louse eggs stuck to their beards. Like, a ton.

 

[MelissaRose]

Would a box of diatomaceous earth help?

 

[MelissaRose]

Can anyone help? It's pretty bad!

 

[lutherpug]

I would assume you would want to use Permethrin dust on the birds themselves and Permethrin spray in the coop. If it were me, I would pull all of the bedding, roosts, and nest boxes if possible and spray them outside of the coop and make sure they are really clean. Do they have a place to take dust baths? I'm sure people who have more experience will chime in here as well. Good luck, I hope you can get rid of the lice.

 

[MelissaRose]

I would assume you would want to use Permethrin dust on the birds themselves and Permethrin spray in the coop. If it were me, I would pull all of the bedding, roosts, and nest boxes if possible and spray them outside of the coop and make sure they are really clean. Do they have a place to take dust baths? I'm sure people who have more experience will chime in here as well. Good luck, I hope you can get rid of the mites.

They don't have an actual dust box but their "sunspace" or little hoop house thing off their coop has a dirt floor and they sometimes do it there.

 

[coach723]

A product with permethrin is most commonly used. Usually the spray in the coop, and the dust on the birds. The spray is available in several brands at Tractor Supply or feed stores, you can get it in a concentrate that you mix with water to the correct dilution.
All the birds will need to be treated, and the coop will need to be cleaned out and treated, all bedding removed and replaced after treatment. With most products you will need to do the treatments of the birds and the coop at least 3 times at 7 day intervals in order to take care of any eggs that continue to hatch. There is another product that you can use on the birds and the coop and will do with one treatment, but it is pretty expensive, that is Elector PSP. This article has lots of info on IDing and treating:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification/

 

[MelissaRose]

Thank you for that info @coach723!

 

[MissLavender]

I just discovered that my girls have poultry lice...I feel like a bad chicken mom. Going to Tractor Supply in a bit to pick up some Permethrin spray and dust.

 

[PirateGirl]

@coach723 Has got the right approach. Permetherin comes in a bottle that looks like this.

There are several brands but the bottle is similar for most, and it can be found in the cattle or horse aisle at the feed store. It has dilution instructions on it. Make your dilution in a spray bottle. Once you remove (and dispose of) ALL bedding from the coop, spray everything, extra attention should go to the corners, nest boxes, and roosts. When the chickens go to roost at night, adjust your spray bottle to a light mist and you can mist the chickens themselves (they don't need to be soaking wet, a light misting will do). As previously mentioned, repeat the coop clean out and spray down once a week for 3 to 4 weeks. This is to catch any newly hatched bugs and break the life cycle. Be sure not to get the chemicals in their food or water and do NOT use this anywhere near a cat, for some reason it's extremely toxic to cats. Your birds may quit laying a bit, but they will feel much better very quickly. Maybe some electrolytes or vitamins in their water will help perk up the anemic birds a bit. The parasites just come from the wild birds and the environment and they are so tiny it's hard for us to notice until an infestation starts to get out of hand. You will see significant improvement after just one treatment. Hang in there!