I was sold a chicken with lice, what are my options?

[kie4]

thanks for the pictures @eggcessive. Our poor lice infested girl escaped while trying to grab her for her permethrin 10% bath. Took a lot of chasing around the garage to catch her. Gave her a full inspection and her vent and under wing areas were completely clear. Moved the feathers on her neck and head and that area was covered in crawling white lice. We submerged her in the warm water with permethrin 10% and she was quiet as a mouse. She even looked like she was going to sleep while we carefully massaged her wet head.

We put her under the hot lamp in her brand new quarantine brooder and she stood there lifeless. Took her a good 10 minutes before she noticed the mealworms under her nose. Her wet feathers meant I could see right through to the skin in the back of her neck, and there were still moving lice there. Will they die from being close to the permethrin? Or do some survive the first wash?

3 hours later and she's all fluffy again. I can't see through the black feathers so there's no way of knowing if there are any lice under there. I gave her a dust box with a sprinkle of Sevin5% dust in it, but she's just sitting on the edge. a completely different bird. before, any adjustment to her brooder and she'd run a mile, flapping about. Tonight she's just sat there perched on the edge of the dust bath box. I gave her some mealworms and she ate them out of my hand. I've never been able to do that before. She's either shell shocked or just really chilled out after the ordeal of the day. It's late now, so I'm just hoping she's less itchy and enjoying a good nights sleep for the first time in her life.

I'll check in with her in the morning.

 

[Eggcessive]

The 10% permethrin should be applied by spray or a quik dip. I probably would not let one soak in a 10% bath, but just quickly dip her and remove her, since most treatments can be toxic if overdone. I hope that she is just tired, and not ill. Her bedding and pen need treating as well, and she should be retreated in 7-10 days intervals to get the lice eggs.

 

[wingedgodd3ss]

You're welcome. Here are pictures of lice eggs at he base of feathers:

    

thanks for the pictures @eggcessive. Our poor lice infested girl escaped while trying to grab her for her permethrin 10% bath. Took a lot of chasing around the garage to catch her. Gave her a full inspection and her vent and under wing areas were completely clear. Moved the feathers on her neck and head and that area was covered in crawling white lice. We submerged her in the warm water with permethrin 10% and she was quiet as a mouse. She even looked like she was going to sleep while we carefully massaged her wet head.

We put her under the hot lamp in her brand new quarantine brooder and she stood there lifeless. Took her a good 10 minutes before she noticed the mealworms under her nose. Her wet feathers meant I could see right through to the skin in the back of her neck, and there were still moving lice there. Will they die from being close to the permethrin? Or do some survive the first wash?

3 hours later and she's all fluffy again. I can't see through the black feathers so there's no way of knowing if there are any lice under there. I gave her a dust box with a sprinkle of Sevin5% dust in it, but she's just sitting on the edge. a completely different bird. before, any adjustment to her brooder and she'd run a mile, flapping about. Tonight she's just sat there perched on the edge of the dust bath box. I gave her some mealworms and she ate them out of my hand. I've never been able to do that before. She's either shell shocked or just really chilled out after the ordeal of the day. It's late now, so I'm just hoping she's less itchy and enjoying a good nights sleep for the first time in her life.

I'll check in with her in the morning.

 

[wingedgodd3ss]

There is food grade diotemaceous earth that works great and is safe for all animals. Most of the time the feed stores don't carry it though but they will order it. You can add it to nesting boxes dust your girls and put it in their food. It will kill mites fleas ticks lice roaches ants.. I put this in my dogs food which kills the ants-also my dogs are no longer on the very expensive ingestible flea tick medication and they have no fleas. I also put it in my dogs beds. Hope this helps-I would never use 7 dust because it is a poison. But I also feed my chickens only non gmo/organic feed. It's more expensive but I'm eating those eggs so I want them to eat the way I do! Good luck!

 

[Eggcessive]

DE won't kill lice in my opinion, at least it did not work for me. It also can be a little dangerous for both bird and human to breathe in. I feel the best thing to do is to read as much as possible and make up one's own mind about treatment for lice. I think that permethrin is safer than sevin. I have used sevin in gardening most of my life, but now feel that permethrin is safer and less toxic.

 

[kie4]

Thanks for the advice @wingedgodd3ss, I read a lot about DE and heard mixed results with respect to lice. Also with the big Eastern seaboard typhoon Mathew this weekend, I didn't want to be outside doing this job and a gust of wind blow DE into my lungs.

We did premethrin 10%, 2oz in an oval shaped 4G bucket. The chick was fine, she had trouble with balance for a few steps after, sat under the heat lamp until her feathers dried off, and the change in her temperament is leading me to believe that there's been an improvement. I understand that a premethrin 10% bath will only kill the lice, and the eggs take 4-7 days to hatch. Also I saw some living lice immediately after the bath that may have survived? We will bath her again once 7 days have passed to kill any hatched eggs, then bath her again 14 days later to kill any newborn lice hatched from the eggs laid by the survivors of bath #1. Then shall I give her one more week of quarantine? Or is it back to square 1 and give her a full month?

 

[Eggcessive]

Lice can reproduce in 4-7 days, but it will take 10-15 days to reach adulthood to start laying eggs themselves. So lice treatment should be done at 10 day intervals. I would just make sure there are no living lice and no eggs present when ending your quarantine, and make sure the quarantine was at least 30 days.

 

[kie4]

Hi @eggcessive. Thanks for your help. Do you mean lice eggs take 4-7 days to hatch? I didn't know it takes 10-15 days for them to reach adulthood and lay eggs. I'll do the premethrin 10% bath again on 10 days then.

 

[dheltzel]

Hi @eggcessive. Thanks for your help. Do you mean lice eggs take 4-7 days to hatch? I didn't know it takes 10-15 days for them to reach adulthood and lay eggs. I'll do the premethrin 10% bath again on 10 days then.

I hope your efforts get rid of the lice. If not, or if they come back later, contact me, I use Ivermectin, it more of a "big gun" compared to the remedies you are using. Since you are close, I can give you a small amount from my bottle. It is applied like you would put Frontline on a dog, a few drop in their skin on the back of their neck. I have "a few" more birds than you have, so I need a once and done approach. I treated over 200 birds Saturday for lice and/or mites, and the idea of having to round them all up for treatment again is 10 days is just too much to consider. I used this once before, over a year ago, and never had to treat those birds again. This time a customer reported they found mites. I couldn't see any mites on the birds I checked, but I did see 1 louse, so I treated everything in that coop, since their egg production is way down anyway this time of year.

I think your current treatment should work and is more safe and gentle.

When they get mature, access to a nice dust bath is a huge help with killing external parasites, and one of their favorite things to do.

 

[Eggcessive]

Hi @eggcessive. Thanks for your help. Do you mean lice eggs take 4-7 days to hatch? I didn't know it takes 10-15 days for them to reach adulthood and lay eggs. I'll do the premethrin 10% bath again on 10 days then.

Yes kie4, that is what it says in this link: http://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8162.pdf