How to treat poultry lice in a flock of 200 chickens plus turkeys?

[kuntrygirl]

I know this is not a new thread but I just found lice or mites on my birds and I am using the deep litter method for my birds to help keep them warm I used wood ashes on the hay under the roosts How am I supposed to clean the whole coop in the middle of the winter? no idea what to do . HELP!!!

Glad that you revived this thread. How big a coop we talkin'? If it were me (and this is only my personal opinion), I would take EVERYTHING out of that coop and start fresh. ALL bedding would have to go!. I would be too paranoid to leave any old bedding in there not knowing if lice or mites are still lingering around. I am too too paranoid to do it any other way. Other people may chime in with other things that you can do to save you time and money but something like this, you can't take short cuts. You pay for short cuts in the end. How are you treating your birds right now? Although you are treating them, that "possible" infested bedding is still in there, so you're turning your wheels if the lice or mites will continue to jump on them.

 

[Harry Rooster]

Hi,

I had gotten a bottle of ivermec .08% sheep drench, and tested on my roosters, and broody hens, and it worked very well, and easy to do. NO LICE in a few days.

I was planning to treat the entire flock this fall when the egg production is down from molting, and before winter hits, but had a coryza outbreak, I had to cull my whole flock of chickens, guineas, and peafowls. Now the turkeys looks like that they have mycoplasma.

If they do have it, then I will have to cull all of the turkeys, and maybe the ducks, and geese too. It looks like I will be poultry less this winter in the first time in 9 years.

First of all, so sorry about your terrible experience and losses. That's horrible!!

Was reading your posts about lice and mite treatments and was so shocked to see this about coryza outbreak. I'm worried that this might be my problem with my rooster and some new pullets we just got. How did your chickens get this? Were new ones introduced into your established flock, as with me, or do they aquire it from something in the enviornment, or what causes this to happen, and what about the mycoplasma, is that related to the coryza? I'm very concerned because I don't have that many chickens and also have 2 African Geese we have had for many years.

 

[Farmerboy16]

Hi,


I had gotten a bottle of ivermec .08% sheep drench, and tested on my roosters, and broody hens, and it worked very well, and easy to do.  NO LICE in a few days. /img/smilies/ya.gif I was planning to treat the entire flock this fall when the egg production is down from molting, and before winter hits, but had a coryza outbreak, I had to cull my whole flock of chickens, guineas, and peafowls. Now the turkeys looks like that they have mycoplasma. /img/smilies/barnie.gif If they do have it, then I will have to cull all of the turkeys, and maybe the ducks, and geese too. It looks like I will be poultry less this winter in the first time in 9 years. /img/smilies/hit.gif

First of all, so sorry about your terrible experience and losses. That's horrible!! Was reading your posts about lice and mite treatments and was so shocked to see this about coryza outbreak. I'm worried that this might be my problem with my rooster and some new pullets we just got. How did your chickens get this? Were new ones introduced into your established flock, as with me, or do they aquire it from something in the enviornment, or what causes this to happen, and what about the mycoplasma, is that related to the coryza? I'm very concerned because I don't have that many chickens and also have 2 African Geese we have had for many years.

Read the link in my sig- It tells the whole story. From the beginning to now.

the1honeycomb- I might do what kuntrygirl said, but ivermec .08% sheep drench had worked wonders, if you repeat every few weeks, the parasites will die off, and will not come back.

 

[Harry Rooster]

Read the link in my sig- It tells the whole story. From the beginning to now.

the1honeycomb- I might do what kuntrygirl said, but ivermec .08% sheep drench had worked wonders, if you repeat every few weeks, the parasites will die off, and will not come back.

I went and read your story. I'm so very sad for you, and worried about mine. I had no idea about introducing new chickens to an established flock. My husband didn't either. He just up and brought some home without even discussing it with me first. He just thought he was helping get more chickens cause we had gotten down to only 3 Bantam hens, 1 Bantam rooster and 1 Dominecker (who is in a pen alone, due to the bullying by the Bantams). She was the only one left out of the small flock of 9 Dominecker hens that my mom and stepdad had about 7 yrs. ago. The other Domineckers either died from old age or by the Bantams. He brought 2 Bantam pullets and 1 Bantam cockerel home about 4 yrs ago, and they took over by beating up the Domineckers once they got grown. They reproduced and we had about 10 Bantams, but they will not stay out of the woods, and got picked off quickly this past summer, until we were left with only the 6 Bantams.Our chickens have always been free range, and I can't stand the thoughts of penning them up. So he thought he would get some to keep penned. He just sprung it on me without notice and I didn't have a chance to clean up the pen where I had kept 2 of the older Dominecker hens (1 recently died I think from sour crop, I have concluded from reading on here), and the other was killed by a preditor in the night (don't know what it was, but it ate nothing but her head) I cried because I loved that chicken. So anyway, he just stuck the pullets it that pen when the guy brought them. I didn't even know about it until I saw them putting them in the pen.

Then "BOOM" trouble hit about 3 days later, from one of the coughing, sneezing, wheezing pullets, and it's been chaos ever since

. He also brought 6 other chickens from someone else about a week before that, also without telling me. He said he rescued them cause the people didn't want them and had been trying to get rid of them. But they are in a totally seperate pen far away from the others (previous dog pen very large, with a large playhouse) that's their coop now. They were 3 RIR hens, 2 Dominecker hens, 1 Easter Egg-blue eggs, and the rooster ? I don't know what he is but he has feathers all the way down his legs and feet and is black and very large. Now that 1 Dominecker hen has something wrong with her feet. It started out with 1 foor turning red and swollen, and now it is starting on her other foot. She also has what I think is lice (from reading on here). So I can't treat the foot anymore until I address the lice issue on her, the others in there with her seem fine. So, now I am treating 1 of my Bantam cockerels for resperatory and 1 of the new pullets, and 2 new pullets have died, and needing to treat the Dominecker's feet and lice, all this in the past week

. I have been making the new pullets medicated water every day also. The other free range hens and cockerel seem to be doing fine except for 1 of the Bantam hens who I think is just broody (?)

I'm watching her closely, but she don't seem to have any problems other than the 2 other hens chase her sometimes, I think she is just the lowest in the pecking order since she is the youngest. She is the offspring of one of the other hens, and is really not quite a year old yet, but almost. Anyway good luck with your new flock, and I hope both of us get it all worked out. I have expressed my displeasure to my husband with his decision to spring things like this on me without warning, and I hope he will never do this again.

 

[Farmerboy16]

Sorry about your flock issues. Hopefully you will be able to get it resolved soon and well.

 

[familypendragon]

Reviving this thread yet again.... sigh. I inherited lice and mites by bringing in new chickens with out quarantining them. I have now tried bathing the birds with soap, vinegar, salt - twice. I sprayed them with the Manna Pro stuff. I have dusted them in DE, then in wood ash. I have covered everything in DE. I have put wood ash in their dust bathing areas. NOTHING is working and now all of them have it. I am going to have to try the evil chemicals I'm afraid. I have read here about Ivermectin and am about to order this http://www.amazon.com/Durvet-001-1067-Ivermectin-Sheep-Drench/dp/B002BADTYG $$, but I will probably have enough for a life time, LOL! I read 3 drops for an adult chicken. So what about 12 week old juveniles and baby chicks? 2 drops and 1 drop? I don't want to poison and kill any birds Then I am planning on emptying out everything and getting rid of it all. Then I guess I need to spray down all surfaces with this Sevin liquid http://www.lowes.com/pd_143711-7544...t=sevin&pl=1&currentURL=?Ntt=sevin&facetInfo= ? I am switching to a nipple drinker system too so the coop stays drier. I read about garlic in the water - will try that too. Anything I missed?

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Reviving this thread yet again.... sigh. I inherited lice and mites by bringing in new chickens with out quarantining them. I have now tried bathing the birds with soap, vinegar, salt - twice. I sprayed them with the Manna Pro stuff. I have dusted them in DE, then in wood ash. I have covered everything in DE. I have put wood ash in their dust bathing areas. NOTHING is working and now all of them have it. I am going to have to try the evil chemicals I'm afraid. I have read here about Ivermectin and am about to order this http://www.amazon.com/Durvet-001-1067-Ivermectin-Sheep-Drench/dp/B002BADTYG $$, but I will probably have enough for a life time, LOL! I read 3 drops for an adult chicken. So what about 12 week old juveniles and baby chicks? 2 drops and 1 drop? I don't want to poison and kill any birds Then I am planning on emptying out everything and getting rid of it all. Then I guess I need to spray down all surfaces with this Sevin liquid http://www.lowes.com/pd_143711-7544...t=sevin&pl=1&currentURL=?Ntt=sevin&facetInfo= ? I am switching to a nipple drinker system too so the coop stays drier. I read about garlic in the water - will try that too. Anything I missed?

Ivermectin does not work on lice...I would try the tried and true dusting treatment, repeating every 7 days if possible (but definitely treat at 14 days after the first treatment)!! If you have mites and lice, you will need to do it every 7 days, no question. The mites have a shorter life cycle than lice.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/599812/ivermectin-some-questions
see post #3- he is a chicken expert and you can take it to the bank

Sevin dust isn't approved anymore for chickens - works VERY well. You can buy poultry dust (permethrin) from the feed store.

 

[familypendragon]

Great.... let me see if I can cancel my order still

 

[familypendragon]

Ivermectin does not work on lice...I would try the tried and true dusting treatment, repeating every 7 days if possible (but definitely treat at 14 days after the first treatment)!! If you have mites and lice, you will need to do it every 7 days, no question. The mites have a shorter life cycle than lice.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/599812/ivermectin-some-questions
see post #3- he is a chicken expert and you can take it to the bank

Sevin dust isn't approved anymore for chickens - works VERY well. You can buy poultry dust (permethrin) from the feed store.

Between Sevin dust and Poultry dust - do I need to toss the eggs for either one for any period of time and how long?

 

[familypendragon]

Great.... let me see if I can cancel my order still

Yay, cancelled before Amazon shipped!