is this lice? (with photo)

[agoodegg]

I'm new, and still finding my way around, so forgive me as I posted this in the wrong place at first. My red sex link hen is 4 months old and has been through a lot. She's a bit smaller than the other 5 she grew up with, but has recently been successfully treated for coccidiosis. She has had a prolapse for over a month, but now I only see it when she poops - and not everytime. However, her backside is still dirty and clumped up, and recently I've seen trickles of blood run down her butt. I keep her bathed, and currently have her isolated inside in the dark to try and give her a break form laying. So far, she's laid 2 eggs during her 48 hour prison term - but both were blood free.
Here are my questions followed by her photo:
is it possible for only one chicken to have lice? or would they all have the same symptoms? If she has a sensitive rear from me always washing her, would it be a bad idea to treat her for lice if she doesn't have it? I do see white clumps near the base of her feathers and she's always trying to pick there, but I thought it was just dried poop. I can't find Sevin, but bought permethrin - is that the same? Could the clumped feathers be enough to make her bleed? And lastly, how should I address her backside if I'm sick of always bathing her? - plucking her feathers sounds painful! Thanks for any advice!

 

[agoodegg]

I also want to mention that this hen's comb is red and tall, and she's active & social, and eats and drinks normally. The morning that I brought her in, I felt like she was walking uncomfortably, and preoccupied with her rear.

 

[Imp]

agoodegg,

Here's a link with pix. Sounds like your hen has had a rough start in life. Good of you to take care of her. Sevin and Permethrin are not the same thing, but both will kill lice & mites. I can't answer the medical questions well. Hopefully someone here with more experience will along soon. Good luck.

Imp


http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0018.html

 

[CATRAY44]

I think I see possible lice signs in one spot near the bottem of the picture. If you see clumps of white looking stuff at the base of the feathers it is lice. Sevin is good for lice and mites. Hopefully someone else will know with more certainty.

 

[cw]

i would let her dry first, though what am i lookin at? (wet chicken, are the feathers wet?)
that appears to be the vent, but the build up around it could be lice, but if you dont see em, my guess would be mites. have you looked her over in the dark? some mites
dont move around till dark

 

[agoodegg]

yes, she's wet in the photo, and not much for posing. The purple is from a spray of blue kote that I put on her forever ago to see if I could prevent others from pecking her prolapse. If the white spots and feather base clumps were poop, they should've dissolved in warm water???

 

[breezy]

I also think my girls have lice and I have a couple of questions about using permethrin? Is there another way to apply it around their faces? The eggs clumps I see are at the base of their "chins". After application do I have to toss their eggs or are topical parasite killers unlikely to show up in the eggs? Thanks for the help and Im sorry if I'm hijacking this thread.

 

[CMV]

Yes, she has lice. Clearly visible in the picture. Sorry.
ETA- It's unlikely that only one bird has lice. They most likely all have it. Sevin dust is the way to go, but don't eat the eggs for 10 days after treatment.

 

[agoodegg]

thank you! I'm on it, and appreciate your help. Their coop is located in such a nice spot beneath 2 huge maple trees, with both shade and sun. However, these trees support a huge wild bird population - so I need to stay on top of lice/mites.

 

[dipence71]

Quote:
I did not think a topical treatment affected the eggs. I know it doesn't kill internal parasites.