Icelandic Chickens

[janelle18]

I'm sorry you were, too. That was horrifying!

Well, I am ready to have a fit! I went and got some baby vitamins tonight for Vona, since she still seems to be struggling and I haven't seen her drink anything. Got the vitamins, diluted them with water and got her to take a drop, and then I noticed something on her head. Lice! Lice! What happened yesterday was awful, but this is the ultimate insult! I don't know how long those nasty things have been there, but it can't be long because I didn't see them yesterday. I will have no lice on my chickens, least of all my babies

So, Vona got a gentle oil bath to suffocate the stupid bugs, and I picked as many off of her as I could. Mashed them to a pulp when I got them, too. Grrrr................I wonder if that's why she hasn't been very lively? Anyway, got her and the other chick moved to a completely new carrier, along with mama, and I put a bunch of fresh wood shavings in there. Tomorrow I am going to burn clean the heck out of the one they were in. I'll be checking the second chick and mama for bugs, too.

could the lice have come from the other chick that you got from your friend?

 

[RedIII]

could the lice have come from the other chick that you got from your friend?

It's possible. It was just an unpleasant shock to find them.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Quote: Get some poultry dust (or Sevin garden dust) and dust everyone in that coop. Clean out the bedding and dust under the new shavings. Do the same with all of the nestboxes. Repeat in 10 days when the lice eggs hatch. Also dust favorite dust bath spots. They can be a real pain to get rid of.

 

[RedIII]

Get some poultry dust (or Sevin garden dust) and dust everyone in that coop. Clean out the bedding and dust under the new shavings. Do the same with all of the nestboxes. Repeat in 10 days when the lice eggs hatch. Also dust favorite dust bath spots. They can be a real pain to get rid of.

Sevin dust won't harm the chickens if they eat it, will it? My chickens have a habit of trying to eat anything I have.

 

[karimw]

Sometimes broodies will catch things like that no matter how clean you are. They don't take the time to clean themselves like they normally would. If wild birds have access to any part of your chicken area there is a constant exposure. I always dust the broody nests when I have them and haven't had a problem with anyone gettng sick. This year I'm going to try the strips from McMurray.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Quote:
It's a fine dust, they won't eat it. Take them off the roost at night and make sure you dust their bottoms and under their wings - then rub your fingers through their feathers so it gets down to skin level. I like roosting time because they don't shake it off as much as they do during the day. Clean out the coop and nest boxes and put the Sevin down then put the shavings on top.

Where there is 1 lice, trust me, there are LOTS of lice. You will find them clustered around the vents in your chickens.

 

[jed2012]

Sometimes broodies will catch things like that no matter how clean you are. They don't take the time to clean themselves like they normally would. If wild birds have access to any part of your chicken area there is a constant exposure. I always dust the broody nests when I have them and haven't had a problem with anyone gettng sick. This year I'm going to try the strips from McMurray.

i go to red's house often, and she keeps the broody in an enclosure with the icelandics in her garage. there is almost NO way wild birds could get in.

 

[RedIII]

Well, I knew that Icelandics make terrific escape artists, but I got a good view of that today when I came home from work and was feeding everyone. Opened the cage with the broody and put some scratch in, then shut the door. I glanced at the pen with the Icelandics for about two seconds, then looked back down at the broody suite. Vona was halfway through one of the mesh squares that form the cage door (it's a large dog carrier) I poked her back in and placed a board in front of the lower part of the door. No more escapees, please. Especially since Vona moves fast. At least I know she can walk.

Thanks Kelly, I'll be doing some major dusting with the chickens today. I've dealt with lice on a hen that was wandering around in some pasture for a while, but with that she was around a lot of wild birds. I oiled her up like a french fry, and that took care of the problem pretty well, too.

 

[Happy Chooks]

I oiled her up like a french fry, and that took care of the problem pretty well, too.

Now THAT is hilarious!

 

[thebirdguy]

I had a surprise this afternoon... not only is my first chick out for the Easter hatch an Icelandic....(I know shocker huh?) but she's early on being early!!