How to treat for lice

[CaliBlueChicken]

One of my chickens has lice, in which I will probably have to treat the whole flock. My roosters comb looks droopy. Will DE do the job. Can anyone help with how to go about cleaning all my chickens up? And coop. thanks

I would like to do this organically if I can. Thanks

Here is an online picture that also looks like what is on my chicken only there are more of them and I see the eggs around the vent feathers in clusters. http://entweb.clemson.edu/cuentres/cesheets/poultry/ce216.jpg

 

[Breac]

Unfortunately, DE is best used for prevention of lice; it doesn't do well with curing them. Orange Guard is an organic spray that I hear works well. I personally use Pyrethrin dust, which I find does a wonderful job. However, I am unsure as to whether or not this is an organic product.

Whatever you decide to use, keep in mind to re-dust/re-spray your birds 7-10 days after the first treatment to kill any remaining nits. Failure to do so will result in the infestation coming back.


Good luck!

 

[CaliBlueChicken]

Thanks for replying. Can I use Pyrethrin dust in the coop as well? I was going to bag up all the old bedding, wash the coop with bleach water<--- do you think bleach would help or what should I use? and then put in new bedding.

 

[CaliBlueChicken]

Has anyone had sucess with this method? here is the link.... https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=146550

Also does anyone know if I can use Palmolive instead of Dawn and it work effectivly? Can I use sea salt or epsom salt as my salt? Are these safe for chickens?

Has anyone had sucess with using Orange Gaurd? Is Orange Gaurd more of a preventative?

Thanks!

 

[dawg53]

If you honestly and trully want get rid of your lice problem, use sevin dust. Anything else is second guessing wasting your time and money, and the health of your chickens. Dust all your chickens, their house,roosts,nests etc...repeat in 10 days. It's $10 for a large canister at walmart.

 

[key west chick]

I have used sevin dust and it works.

 

[Wynette]

I've used sevin dust and it does work, but I switched to poultry dust...it's made specifically for poultry parasites and it works in the same way sevin does.

You need to treat them all, then treat again in a week to get any hatchlings.

You also need to remove all the bedding from your coop. I even Shop Vac when I do this, in all the corners. I purchased a gallon jug of "flea & mite" spray for dogs at my local TSC - it has a trigger sprayer on it, and it's too strong to use directly on the birds, but it's excellent for getting down into corners/crevices in a coop. Remove all bedding, spray LIGHTLY with the premise spray, allow to air dry, add new bedding, add birds back. (When I dust mine with the poultry dust, I put them in a horse stall for at least an hour for the powder to kill eveyrthing on them, and I take that time to clean the coop out). The premise spray kills any adults or eggs for 6 full months. Also spray the roost (if it's wooden). BEST of luck!

 

[australorpchick]

Quote:
This is what I do, but I use Adams Flea and Tick (found it at Walmart) and I spray it in the coop and a small squirt on the birds.

 

[Wynette]

I've used Adams in the past, but I've spoken with a few chicken health folks who say that I should avoid that...so I don't use it any longer. There is a mite/lice spray specifically made for chickens, if spray is more to your liking. I think so long as you dust as much area of the chicken, or SPRAY as much area of the chicken as possible, you're good to go! Just remember to do it again in a week.

 

[australorpchick]

Wynette - Do know why Adams should be avoided? I haven't had any problems, but I don't want to chance making them sick. Also, do you know if the chicken spray available at TSC or just online?