Lice and how to deal in the cold temps.

[Jandsloch]

Ok just noticed some creepy crawlers on 1 of my boys as I was checking for healing of a wound. Lice! They are not the kind that stick to the vent/feathers. So. I grabbed some de (adding pic) in hopes of making a dust bath and to dust them also. I also purchased some permethrin for a spray....I’m not messin around with creepy crawlies. So temps in the evening is going to get down to 30. I’m gone 12 hours a day for work 6mdays a week. Their coop light shuts off just before I get home at dusk. Would it be ok to set the light to stay on and spray everyone before they go to bed so they are wetish tonight....or do I wait until Sunday. Creepy crawlies suck! I plan on cleaning out all the straw and dusting floor with de then putting in new straw. There is a litter under roosts that is scooped every day so I figure the day I spray them replace straw and spray lightly the litter (sand and pdz mix) they don’t spend time in the litter except this chicks. That’s my next question the are 6 week old brahmas to spray or not to spray. I’ve never dealt with lice before so any ideas advice etc is welcome soquestion 1. Spray tonight when I get home or let the lice fester till Sunday. Keep in mind I almost forgot I have a red who is moping around tail down. Given electrolytes in waters and also have dewormed...now lice so I assume the lice is her issue and do I wanna wait any longer? Question 2 spray or dust? And for either what is the suggested process? Question 3 dust bath inside coop or outside in weather. They don’t have a covered run. A huge fenced off area half the yard belongs to them. Thank you in advance for any info as I’m sitting here scratching the crap outta my head! Psycho semantics

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Spray tonight when I get home or let the lice fester till Sunday. Keep in mind I almost forgot I have a red who is moping around tail down. Given electrolytes in waters and also have dewormed...now lice so I assume the lice is her issue and do I wanna wait any longer? Question 2 spray or dust? And for either what is the suggested process? Question 3 dust bath inside coop or outside in weather. They don’t have a covered run.

You can also use Permethrin based poultry dust if you are worried about getting them wet. You are not going to drench them with the spray - base of neck, under the wings and below the vent.

The DE, eh, maybe add a sprinkle of that to your dust bath, but personally, if it's not opened I would take it back. No covered run...for winter, I would give them a tub of loose dirt/sand/etc., inside the coop.

The Red....is she molting? Does she lay eggs? I would check her out a bit more - make sure the crop is empty in the morning, feel her abdomen for bloat/swelling.

https://hencam.com/henblog/2016/02/coop-dust-bath/
https://hencam.com/henblog/2014/03/winter-dust-bath/

 

[Jandsloch]

You can also use Permethrin based poultry dust if you are worried about getting them wet. You are not going to drench them with the spray - base of neck, under the wings and below the vent.

The DE, eh, maybe add a sprinkle of that to your dust bath, but personally, if it's not opened I would take it back. No covered run...for winter, I would give them a tub of loose dirt/sand/etc., inside the coop.

The Red....is she molting? Does she lay eggs? I would check her out a bit more - make sure the crop is empty in the morning, feel her abdomen for bloat/swelling.

https://hencam.com/henblog/2016/02/coop-dust-bath/
https://hencam.com/henblog/2014/03/winter-dust-bath/

She’s under a year. Was laying. Had another girl before her same age that went pale and shrunken comb. They had a lot of stressors the last month including an attack x2 that killed 5 girls. Made a shed into new coop one week next attack then when hubs got home built necessities in shed coop then another attack on a wanderer. So I figured stress would cause them to well be stressed. I dewormed them with Panacur. Found a million different doses on here with different methods so I went with 1/2 cc per bird for 5 days. I have not seen worms but the pale comb in other hen along with diarrhea made me thing a small deworming as a preventative. Put electrolytes in water....offer a plain water and electro water. Other hen has bounced back no eggs from her yet but she’s beginning to have energy and is turning red again. This rir though is not. Moped around empty crop will peck at food and ground here and there but not enough to fill her crop. Soft belly no egg stuck. She just genuinely acts as though she just doesn’t feel well. I notice towards the evening she is a bit perkier with tail up but in the mornings she’s mopey. So my thoughts were the lice perhaps being the cause of her not feeling well. I was going to do the powder but it’s a small amount and I have 11 bigger birds and 4 chicks so I’d have to buy a few. So I got the liquid. U think it’s ok to spray lightly before they go to bed? And what’s the ratio? And how many days?

 

[Folly's place]

I agree about not bothering with the DE. Permethrin dust is available, and I use it under new bedding and in nest boxes under the bedding too. The spray has directions in the label, and you can spray every inch of the coop during the day when it's not freezing, and spritz some on each bird at night when they are roosting. You don't want to get them too wet, for sure.
Lice and mites are the pits!
Repeat in ten to fourteen days at least.
Mary

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She’s under a year. Was laying. Had another girl before her same age that went pale and shrunken comb. They had a lot of stressors the last month including an attack x2 that killed 5 girls. Made a shed into new coop one week next attack then when hubs got home built necessities in shed coop then another attack on a wanderer. So I figured stress would cause them to well be stressed. I dewormed them with Panacur. Found a million different doses on here with different methods so I went with 1/2 cc per bird for 5 days. I have not seen worms but the pale comb in other hen along with diarrhea made me thing a small deworming as a preventative. Put electrolytes in water....offer a plain water and electro water. Other hen has bounced back no eggs from her yet but she’s beginning to have energy and is turning red again. This rir though is not. Moped around empty crop will peck at food and ground here and there but not enough to fill her crop. Soft belly no egg stuck. She just genuinely acts as though she just doesn’t feel well. I notice towards the evening she is a bit perkier with tail up but in the mornings she’s mopey. So my thoughts were the lice perhaps being the cause of her not feeling well. I was going to do the powder but it’s a small amount and I have 11 bigger birds and 4 chicks so I’d have to buy a few. So I got the liquid. U think it’s ok to spray lightly before they go to bed? And what’s the ratio? And how many days?

I would still check her crop first thing to make sure it's empty.

Directions for mixing the poultry spray is on the label.

I'm not sure what kind of poultry dust you found that you would need to buy several containers - a 2 pound can at TSC is around $9.00 and will treat 200 birds.
If the chicks are in the same housing, yes, I would treat them too.

Could be lice is not making her feel well, they mainly feed off dander/feather dust, but can be irritating. Mites are more destructive and can make birds sick. Either way, the Permethrin will usually take care of them - treat at 7 day intervals.

 

[Jandsloch]

I agree about not bothering with the DE. Permethrin dust is available, and I use it under new bedding and in nest boxes under the bedding too. The spray has directions in the label, and you can spray every inch of the coop during the day when it's not freezing, and spritz some on each bird at night when they are roosting. You don't want to get them too wet, for sure.
Lice and mites are the pits!
Repeat in ten to fourteen days at least.
Mary

I know the dust is available but its a small amount here. I didn’t get the spray I’ll post what I got. I will have to kick them out of shed before I spray the coop? It’s usually just getting light and I will have to spray quickly before I leave for work lol

 

[casportpony]

In cold or wet weather I use permethrin dust for lice. The problems with using the spray for lice is that you have to get it on the skin, which means they will get wet. And since the different species of lice live in different places on the bird, that means you need to treat the entire bird.

https://parasitipedia.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2402&Itemid=2667
Main species of lice on domestic birds

Cuclotogaster heterographa, the head louse, is about 2.5 mm long and is found mainly on the head and the neck of birds. It prefers to stay close to the skin or at the base of the feathers. It does not suck blood, but feeds on skin and feather debris. It is more frequent on young birds and turkeys. Heavy infested birds may even die before maturity.

Eomenacanthus stramineus (= Menacanthus stramineus), the chicken body louse is the most common species on domestic birds, and probably the most damaging one. It is rather large (2.5 to 3.5 mm long) and of a brownish color. It feeds mainly on feather debris, but is capable of sucking blood. It lives mostly on the skin of birds, seldom on the feathers, and prefers body parts with few feathers, e.g. around the vent, although in case of heavy infestations it may be found also on the head, under the wings and on the chest. The eggs are laid in clusters on the feathers or directly on the kin.

Goniocotes gallinae, the fluff louse, is one of the smallest lice of poultry, only 0.8 to 1.5 mm long. It is found all over the birds' body, but less densely on the head and the wings, on the fluff or base of the feathers. It also feeds mainly on feather debris.

Lipeurus caponis, the wing louse, is 2.0 to 2.5 mm long, and has a grayish color. It is found mainly in the inner part of wing, tail and head feathers. It only feeds on parts of the feathers, but so intensively, that is also called the depluming louse.

Menopon gallinae, the shaft louse, is rather small (1.5 to 2.0 mm long). It feeds mainly on skin and feather debris, but may also suck blood from the wounds it produces. It prefers the chest, the shoulders and the back of birds. Eggs are whitish and are laid often in clusters at the base of the feathers.

Columbicola columbae, the slender pigeon louse, is 2.0 to 2.8 mm long. It can be found all over the body, especially at the inner side of the wing feathers. It feeds on feather debris. Eggs are laid preferentially are the small feathers under the wings.

 

[Jandsloch]

I would still check her crop first thing to make sure it's empty.

Directions for mixing the poultry spray is on the label.

I'm not sure what kind of poultry dust you found that you would need to buy several containers - a 2 pound can at TSC is around $9.00 and will treat 200 birds.
If the chicks are in the same housing, yes, I would treat them too.

Could be lice is not making her feel well, they mainly feed off dander/feather dust, but can be irritating. Mites are more destructive and can make birds sick. Either way, the Permethrin will usually take care of them - treat at 7 day intervals.

Thank u...I’ve checked her crop every morning and every night....empty...at night there is some food but not a whole lot tonight I am going to put her in a cage in the shed (coop)

 

[Jandsloch]

In cold or wet weather I use permethrin dust for lice. The problems with using the spray for lice is that you have to get it on the skin, which means they will get wet. And since the different speciaes of lice live in different places on the bird, that means you need to treat the entire bird.

https://parasitipedia.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2402&Itemid=2667
Main species of lice on domestic birds

Cuclotogaster heterographa, the head louse, is about 2.5 mm long and is found mainly on the head and the neck of birds. It prefers to stay close to the skin or at the base of the feathers. It does not suck blood, but feeds on skin and feather debris. It is more frequent on young birds and turkeys. Heavy infested birds may even die before maturity.

Eomenacanthus stramineus (= Menacanthus stramineus), the chicken body louse is the most common species on domestic birds, and probably the most damaging one. It is rather large (2.5 to 3.5 mm long) and of a brownish color. It feeds mainly on feather debris, but is capable of sucking blood. It lives mostly on the skin of birds, seldom on the feathers, and prefers body parts with few feathers, e.g. around the vent, although in case of heavy infestations it may be found also on the head, under the wings and on the chest. The eggs are laid in clusters on the feathers or directly on the kin.

Goniocotes gallinae, the fluff louse, is one of the smallest lice of poultry, only 0.8 to 1.5 mm long. It is found all over the birds' body, but less densely on the head and the wings, on the fluff or base of the feathers. It also feeds mainly on feather debris.

Lipeurus caponis, the wing louse, is 2.0 to 2.5 mm long, and has a grayish color. It is found mainly in the inner part of wing, tail and head feathers. It only feeds on parts of the feathers, but so intensively, that is also called the depluming louse.

Menopon gallinae, the shaft louse, is rather small (1.5 to 2.0 mm long). It feeds mainly on skin and feather debris, but may also suck blood from the wounds it produces. It prefers the chest, the shoulders and the back of birds. Eggs are whitish and are laid often in clusters at the base of the feathers.

Columbicola columbae, the slender pigeon louse, is 2.0 to 2.8 mm long. It can be found all over the body, especially at the inner side of the wing feathers. It feeds on feather debris. Eggs are laid preferentially are the small feathers under the wings.


View attachment 1948629

Looks like the wing louse which makes sense....we we looking where saddle feathers start for the wound but lifted a wing and started there pulling feathers aside getting closer to the wound that’s where’re we saw them...ewww

 

[Duckfarmer1]

Ok just noticed some creepy crawlers on 1 of my boys as I was checking for healing of a wound. Lice! They are not the kind that stick to the vent/feathers. So. I grabbed some de (adding pic) in hopes of making a dust bath and to dust them also. I also purchased some permethrin for a spray....I’m not messin around with creepy crawlies. So temps in the evening is going to get down to 30. I’m gone 12 hours a day for work 6mdays a week. Their coop light shuts off just before I get home at dusk. Would it be ok to set the light to stay on and spray everyone before they go to bed so they are wetish tonight....or do I wait until Sunday. Creepy crawlies suck! I plan on cleaning out all the straw and dusting floor with de then putting in new straw. There is a litter under roosts that is scooped every day so I figure the day I spray them replace straw and spray lightly the litter (sand and pdz mix) they don’t spend time in the litter except this chicks. That’s my next question the are 6 week old brahmas to spray or not to spray. I’ve never dealt with lice before so any ideas advice etc is welcome soquestion 1. Spray tonight when I get home or let the lice fester till Sunday. Keep in mind I almost forgot I have a red who is moping around tail down. Given electrolytes in waters and also have dewormed...now lice so I assume the lice is her issue and do I wanna wait any longer? Question 2 spray or dust? And for either what is the suggested process? Question 3 dust bath inside coop or outside in weather. They don’t have a covered run. A huge fenced off area half the yard belongs to them. Thank you in advance for any info as I’m sitting here scratching the crap outta my head! Psycho semantics

Hi..I have 2 things..first.. I am also dealing with lice, but with my goats..so I’m hoping it doesn’t go further...what site did you find the permarithin? Everyone suggested I use Cylense..but with shipping it’s $30..#2. I am also in NW PA. I’m in Kane..pretty cold here too..where are you? Ok.. I agree with everyone else..use the spray right away