Help! Found Lice on bantam pullets

[coach723]

They usually carry it, the last price I saw was more though. Walmart is showing it for about $180, my last search on Amazon did not show it there currently.

 

[FoxySonia]

So Elector is the best treatment, and it kills lice and mites, right?

Here's an article by the Chicken Chick on Lice and Mites, it mentions Elector as best treatment for mites but no mention of lice.

https://the-chicken-chick.com/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification/

 

[Aunt Angus]

So Elector is the best treatment, and it kills lice and mites, right?

Here's an article by the Chicken Chick on Lice and Mites, it mentions Elector as best treatment for mites but no mention of lice.

https://the-chicken-chick.com/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification/

That's where I first heard of it.

 

[FoxySonia]

I just ordered the Elector PSP from Circle C Supply hardware store for $140.95 with free shipping and no tax charged. Paid with PayPal. It'll take several days to get it, what can I do for the 2 sick bantam pullets til then? I didn't see Lice eggs on them but they have enough lice on them to get on me whenever I handle them to give them water with Corid. Should I order something else from Amazon that I could receive much quicker?

 

[FoxySonia]

Update on the 2 sick pullets. The 1st one seemed to be feeling better, her appetite is slowly returning, have seen her go to the food dishes to eat a little and have seen her drink water on her own. I'm still giving both water with Corid using an oral syringe. Her poop appears more normal, more brown and solid instead of dark green and watery, so the Corid has been helping her get better. The 2nd pullet, she got sick at least a day after the 1st pullet, so she still seems to not be feeling well, has no appetite and is lethargic, only wants to sleep all day. Haven't seen her poop yet today, so don't know if it's still dark green and runny. She still fights me a little when I try to make her drink the water with Corid, which I give her with syringe. She pecks at food when she sees her sister eat, but barely eats anything. Both are pretty skinny and covered in lice. I purchased the Elector PSP on October 3 and this morning got the notification that it shipped, so I should be receiving it in a few days.

I don't have much Corid powder left so will have to get more right away. 2 days ago I started the rest of the flock on the intermediate or moderate dose. Yesterday another pullet (4 month old Appenzeller Spitzhauben) was lethargic and slept most of the day, I gave her the outbreak dose and today she seems a little better. It sucks that these chicks are getting sick and need to be treated again with Corid, after having been treated with it for 7 weeks ( 10 days the outbreak dose, 2 weeks the moderate and 3 weeks the maintenanc), not that many weeks ago. I'm concerned that the Corid use for so many weeks will or have caused a thiamine deficiency. What are the signs of thiamine deficiency? Should I give them thiamine after the Corid treatment? If yes, how much and for how long?

 

[coach723]

Usually treatment consists of 5-7 days of the severe outbreak dosing (2tsp of liquid Corid or 1.5 tsp of powder Corid to gallon of water) and then if needed another 5 - 7 days at the reduced dose (1/2 tsp of liquid or 1/3 tsp of powder per gallon of water). I've never actually had birds with a deficiency post treatment, but it's possible. Once treatment is complete you can give a 1/2 a B complex tablet or capsule (human ones) for a few days or a week, the B's are water soluble and any extra will be excreted. If you have a bird that has symptoms of a deficiency I would give to that bird until it's symptoms resolve. Don't give thiamine at the same time as treatment since it could reduce the effectiveness of the corid.
Since you seem to have it running through your flock, I would just treat them all at the same time, rather than one here, one there, as they become ill. For very sick birds that are not eating or drinking I would give them a stronger oral dose once a day for up to three days, instructions for that are here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/corid-oral-drench-instructions.1211991/
That will help get the medications in them until they are eating and drinking well enough on their own to take it in. You can still give them the corid water via syringe also. You give the drench in addition to the regular treatment.
Depending on the lice load and how long they've been there, that can seriously weaken them also.

 

[FoxySonia]

Usually treatment consists of 5-7 days of the severe outbreak dosing (2tsp of liquid Corid or 1.5 tsp of powder Corid to gallon of water) and then if needed another 5 - 7 days at the reduced dose (1/2 tsp of liquid or 1/3 tsp of powder per gallon of water). I've never actually had birds with a deficiency post treatment, but it's possible. Once treatment is complete you can give a 1/2 a B complex tablet or capsule (human ones) for a few days or a week, the B's are water soluble and any extra will be excreted. If you have a bird that has symptoms of a deficiency I would give to that bird until it's symptoms resolve. Don't give thiamine at the same time as treatment since it could reduce the effectiveness of the corid.
Since you seem to have it running through your flock, I would just treat them all at the same time, rather than one here, one there, as they become ill. For very sick birds that are not eating or drinking I would give them a stronger oral dose once a day for up to three days, instructions for that are here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/corid-oral-drench-instructions.1211991/
That will help get the medications in them until they are eating and drinking well enough on their own to take it in. You can still give them the corid water via syringe also. You give the drench in addition to the regular treatment.
Depending on the lice load and how long they've been there, that can seriously weaken them also.

I did not know about the Corid oral drench, so Thank you so much. I don't have a weight scale so not sure how much the 2 bantam Pollish pullets weigh, they are very light, so I guessed each weigh no more than a lb. Because they weren't drinking much on their own, so 2-3 times a day I've been giving them water with the outbreak dose using a syringe, I think supposed to be .1ml per lb? Since they spill more than they drink, I fill the syringe up to .3ml, so I think they've probably been getting close to the drench dose amount. I think today is day 5 of the Corid treatment.

This afternoon the 2nd pullet seemed a bit improved, saw her eating on her own and with her sister on 2 separate occasions, so appetite slowly returning. And I didn't see watery poop. Since they are still not well, I'll continue the outbreak dose of Corid in their water for up to 5 more days. Should I then stop and repeat 2-4 weeks later, or should I continue with the intermediate/moderate dose or the maintenance dose for a couple of weeks? I'll give them, and the rest of the flock which is now also getting Corid water (the moderate dose), the B-Complex and probiotics (plain Greek yogurt ok?) after the Corid treatment is finished.

The lice don't seem like they've been on the chicks for long, not a huge infestation, haven't seen any eggs clusters on them. But there are enough lice for some to get on ne each time I handle them. It's quite annoying to feel lice running around on me. The live that get on me are supposed to die in 24 hours, but each day new ones get on me. Ugh!