Hen treated for lice - unsure about her being around others

[Wisegirl99]

I have 3 hens. One has a small amount of lice on her bottom. I think I caught it early before they spread to the other two. Yesterday I made a bath with salt, vinegar and dish soap and bathed her in it. Afterwards I couldn't find a single lice, so I think it worked! But I am unsure if it killed the eggs. So I'm going to do it again in a week.

Here's my question... Since my other two hens don't have lice, does anyone think it would be okay for the one who had lice to be with the other two during the day and sleeping with them at night? I'm thinking that the lice wouldn't crawl from bird to bird with these freezing temperatures. I would think it would want to stay on one bird. Am I correct in thinking this? Or should I be putting my hen that may still have a little bit of lice in a different area to sleep? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[N F C]

Personally, I would treat all 3 of them. And do a thorough clean out of the coop, including the roosts and nesting boxes.

 

[PirateGirl]

x2

 

[Chickassan]

Normally if one has lice everybody does, kind of like kids.
They just might not be hanging out around their butt. Err on the side of caution and treat everyone and clean the coop like has been suggested.
You do not want a big lice party in your coop.
They don't care at all about it being cold either, those jokers are super tough!

 

[Wisegirl99]

Personally, I would treat all 3 of them. And do a thorough clean out of the coop, including the roosts and nesting boxes.

I did dust the other 2 with DE around the vent area and under the wings just to be safe. But do you think it's ok to have the one with the other two at night?

 

[Shadrach]

DE won't kill the lice.
You need to use something like Permethrin or some other chemical mite and louse powder, or spray.

 

[Wisegirl99]

DE won't kill the lice.
You need to use something like Permethrin or some other chemical mite and louse powder, or spray.

Thanks, but staying away from those types if chemicals.

 

[Shadrach]

Thanks, but staying away from those types if chemicals.

That's fine, you'll need to pick all the lice off yourself then.

 

[Fishkeeper]

DE isn't going to work, and is potentially dangerous to your birds. It's tiny, sharp particles, easily inhaled, that can cause massive lung damage in all animals, but especially in birds, as they aren't well-equipped to expel foreign materials from their lungs. Just because it's natural doesn't mean it's safer- asbestos is a rock that comes straight out of the ground, and everyone can agree that stuff is dangerous.
You're either going to have to hand-remove all the mites, or treat with something that's actually effective, not DE. Lice spray is made to be dangerous to mites, but not to chickens.

 

[Chickassan]

Yes, it is fine. It won't hurt a thing.
I know you don't like chemicals, neither do I but I can't stress enough how much you don't want the lice to get out of hand. Lesser evils are out there to help you if you know what you're looking for.

Pyrethrum is a natural insecticide made from chrysanthemum compounds.
Permethrin has the same effects but the only variabile is the compound is man made but still based on the pyrethrins found in chrysanthemums.
So, there is very natural help out there and it works well.

I did dust the other 2 with DE around the vent area and under the wings just to be safe. But do you think it's ok to have the one with the other two at night?