How do I treat chicken lice?

[Brahma Chicken5000]

I also add garlic powder to my chickens’ feed when I refill it as I’ve read that mites/lice don’t like the taste of garlic blood.

 

[Folly's place]

I eat all the garlic here!!!
Mary

 

[happyfrenchman]

I also add garlic powder to my chickens’ feed when I refill it as I’ve read that mites/lice don’t like the taste of garlic blood.

Doesn't the garlic flavor the eggs?

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

Doesn't the garlic flavor the eggs?

I don’t think so. I put garlic powder in my chickens’ feed for the past 2 years and the eggs taste just like the ones I got from them before I put garlic in their feed.

 

[Robert 1234]

Old rule of thumb for mites..., dip the birds legs in the solution of motor oil. This will kill all mites!
Also ... Spray the oil into all joints and crevices within the coop area. I generally use a louse powder for lice and mites located within the birds feathers by applying it to the coops fresh wood chip shaving bedding and their dust bathing areas. ... I use a large old truck tire for this filled with potting soil and sand mix ... To this I add louse powder.
( let the birds dust themselves )...they seem to enjoy themselves well . Hope this helps. It works for me ..

 

[Hross1213]

Does anyone know how much concentrated permethrin to add to a gallon spray container for use on poultry? ALL 8 of my birds have the white mite egg casings around their vents. I just saw that my rooster has a bare spot over his keel bone. I don’t know if it’s from the mites or not but I’ve got to get busy NOW!!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Does anyone know how much concentrated permethrin to add to a gallon spray container for use on poultry? ALL 8 of my birds have the white mite egg casings around their vents. I just saw that my rooster has a bare spot over his keel bone. I don’t know if it’s from the mites or not but I’ve got to get busy NOW!!

Hi @Hross1213 can you post a photo of the Permethrin concentrate you have?
Egg casing around the vent, if they look like qtips, is probably lice instead mites. Nonetheless you still need to treat all your birds, clean out bedding/treat your coop too.

If you have a photo of your rooster and the bare spot, that would be good too.

 

[cmom]

Does anyone know how much concentrated permethrin to add to a gallon spray container for use on poultry? ALL 8 of my birds have the white mite egg casings around their vents. I just saw that my rooster has a bare spot over his keel bone. I don’t know if it’s from the mites or not but I’ve got to get busy NOW!!

There are many different suggestions of how much permethrin per gallon of water. Some of my birds had severe mites and lice last year. I didn't react as quickly as I should have because it was also the time of year when the birds molt so I thought some of the feather loss was from molting but upon further investigation I discovered mites in one coop. I sprayed all of the coops as a prevention. I originally sprayed 2 ounces of permethrin concentrate to a good gallon of water. I sprayed every crack and crevice in the affected coop as well on and under the roosts in and outside of the nest boxes, walls, ceilings, floors, everywhere. First I cleaned out the coop and gave the birds affected baths with flea soap. It did help but I don't think it got rid of all of the pests. I started spraying weekly for awhile because the permethrins does not kill the pests eggs. No harm has come to the birds and the mites and lice are gone. I still do a spray during the warm weather once every two weeks but in cold weather once a month as a prevention. Wild birds, squirrels and such can introduce the pests. I had some wild birds trying to build nest in a couple of the coops so I think that may have been where the original pest came from. Now I put permethrin dust in the nest boxes instead of spray. Originally I did go into the coop when the birds were roosting and gave them a spray. So far so good and no more pests. Good luck...

 

[Hross1213]

Hi @Hross1213 can you post a photo of the Permethrin concentrate you have?
Egg casing around the vent, if they look like qtips, is probably lice instead mites. Nonetheless you still need to treat all your birds, clean out bedding/treat your coop too.

If you have a photo of your rooster and the bare spot, that would be good too.

 

[Hross1213]

Thank you so much for your reply! I have not been able to get a picture of my roo’s hiney and his bare keel because I’ve been playing vet by myself. I was able to find out from another thread to use 19ml of 10% permethrin per gallon of water. I sprayed all 8 birds and cleaned out and sprayed the coop and run 2 weekends ago. Even though I don’t see the lice (tiny narrow reddish things) crawling, my roo still has hundreds of those egg casings around his vent and going up his belly. Do I need to treat them again at intervals? What about natural remedies? I’m using ACV and garlic. Some nesting box herbs and herbal dewormer. I want to stay away from anything harsh, but I would be devastated(( if something bad happened to any one of my babies. I have to be RID of this awfulness!!!