Help!!!

[Silvia2234]

We put our baby chicks(1 day old) with my silkies and they were getting over lice. Now, they are one week and they are loaded with lice. What's the quickest way to kill lice? When held one,my hand had about 10 lice on it. Eeeew! I need to know the quickest way to kill all the lice not just most.

 

[lazy gardener]

I'm guessing you have mites, and not lice. Do a google search so you can see the difference. If it's mites, they live in the environment. It will not do you any good to treat the birds, if you don't treat their coop at the same time. That entails stripping all of the bedding out of the coop, washing any surfaces where they might hide out (especially cracks and corners). I'd then use poultry dust to treat both coop and birds. You will need to repeat the entire procedure 7 - 10 days later to get any mites that hatch after the first treatment. It's a gruesome job. You will also need to destroy the old bedding as it will harbor mites. If it's lice, it's a bit easier b/c they live mainly on the bird. I've never dealt with lice, you'll need to do a thread search on that.

Unfortunately, there is no easy, quick fix. It entails all out war if you have that much of an infestation.

 

[Silvia2234]

I'm guessing you have mites, and not lice.  Do a google search so you can see the difference.  If it's mites, they live in the environment.  It will not do you any good to treat the birds, if you don't treat their coop at the same time.  That entails stripping all of the bedding out of the coop, washing any surfaces where they might hide out (especially cracks and corners).  I'd then use poultry dust to treat both coop and birds.  You will need to repeat the entire procedure 7 - 10 days later to get any mites that hatch after the first treatment.  It's a gruesome job.  You will also need to destroy the old bedding as it will harbor mites.   If it's lice, it's a bit easier b/c they live mainly on the bird.  I've never dealt with lice, you'll need to do a thread search on that. 

Unfortunately, there is no easy, quick fix.  It entails all out war if you have that much of an infestation.

Yeah, they are lice. They don't look like mites. They have the shape of poultry lice. We were thinking of giving the babies a dawn bath and dusting the silkies.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm guessing you have mites, and not lice. Do a google search so you can see the difference. If it's mites, they live in the environment. It will not do you any good to treat the birds, if you don't treat their coop at the same time. That entails stripping all of the bedding out of the coop, washing any surfaces where they might hide out (especially cracks and corners). I'd then use poultry dust to treat both coop and birds. You will need to repeat the entire procedure 7 - 10 days later to get any mites that hatch after the first treatment. It's a gruesome job. You will also need to destroy the old bedding as it will harbor mites. If it's lice, it's a bit easier b/c they live mainly on the bird. I've never dealt with lice, you'll need to do a thread search on that.

Unfortunately, there is no easy, quick fix. It entails all out war if you have that much of an infestation.

X2

IMHO it would be best to clean coop, dust or spray the birds with a permethrin based product designed for poultry.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1151513/pesticides-approved-for-poultry