Lice Eggs?

[kimb]

I think my chicks now have lice? (or they could've come with them ? )
None of the 4 chicks I had before the new 11 had lice.

But this evening when I was checking waters/food & tucking everyone in one of the blue giant cochin girls was in with the d'uccles & silkies (I have them separated with plastic fencing - I know isn't adequate to be 100% certain of keeping them separated - the little ones are ok with just running away from one, but from them all makes me nervous).

The blues are less friendly than my blonde & partridge girls so I rarely get close to them - but they've gotten much friendly and actually come to my feet for their treats

Anyway since I had to pick her up - I checked her over and saw her neck was a little bare so upon further investigation she had little eggs around the feathers around her neck, just out of reach of her beak... I'm assuming these are lice eggs - I couldn't find any live lice on her though - and no one else seems bothered. But of course I'm guessing I'll have to treat everyone...

If they are lice - what's the typical/good treatment and what is SAFE for them - where they are young - the silkies/d'uccles are probably <1lbs.

The 4 GC girls are 14.5 weeks old
The 6 D'uccles & Silkies are 13.5 weeks old
-these came from the same place and are now in with these girls:
Then I have my bantam cochin/silkie cross who is laying now so I'd guess 7-8 months old
And an Aracauna chick who is roughly 15 weeks old

I have 2 other "old ladies" in a separate coop.
8 month d'uccle/cochin/silkie? something or other cross
2 year old Aracauna

But they were all in the same coop - with dividers before I moved the 12 little girls out to the barn - for my own convenience reasons to be able to have more than one heat lamp. So I'm obviously going to clean out all the pens (again x( in the freezing cold). They can go out if they want - but they rarely go farther than the shoveled path.

Should I disinfect with anything? or will any remaining eventually die if I keep up with treatment/prevention on the girls?


It's just been one head/heartache after another since I acquired the new ones x( ...

 

[purpletree23]

I would use poultry lice and mite dust on EVERYONE. It looks like the youngest ones are 13.5 weeks old correct? That's not too young.

Dust every chicken individually in a well ventilated area. Start at their heads and work down toward the butt. Make sure you dust the vent and the tummy really well. The lice like to hide there. Ruffle their feathers so the dust goes all the way down to the skin. Thats where the lice are. Pull back the bedding in all of your chicken areas and dust the floors also any roosts and cracks in the wood etc. The dust will only kill the adults so you have to dust 2 more times to make sure all of them are killed. Most people dust twice but I like to do it 3 times. After you dust them the first time wait 10 days and dust them again and again in another 10 days.

The lice feed on the chickens so make sure they get a lot of really wholesome nutritious food so they won't get weak and be susceptable to a disease.

Instead of pulling back the bedding and dusting just get rid of the bedding you have and start over.

My girls have been nothing but a head/heartache too but hang in there. I am.

What state are you in? If it's cold enough (maybe in the teen's) I was wondering if you could house them someplace else for a day or 2, clean out their coop and leave the doors and windows open for a few days and if any lice are hiding they would freeze to death along with anything else creepy in the coop. This cold weather just might be good for something! Then put down the dust and new bedding and cross your fingers.

 

[kimb]

Thanks for the response!

Yes, the youngest are 13.5 weeks : the D'uccles & Silkies (they make me nervous because they are so small and more "needy" than the other ladies)

I'll have to dust tomorrow (any preference between sevin & malathion or pryethren based? (If it were warmer I'd do a 10% permtherin soak but since I'm in NH I'll stick with powder). [I know I didn't spell either one right x( ]

I just moved the young ones up to the barn about 2 weeks ago, so I guess I'll clean out the real coop & dust first - then move everyone into the coop and clean/dust their stall in the barn. I did put plastic on the floor to keep "chicken" from being the permanent smell of the rubber matts (since I do have horses in the barn). so it should be fairly easy to clean - but there are cracks in the wall (I might spray down with bleach or something similar).

I was also thinking of doing a litterbox for them as a "dust" bath - with the sand/DE combo (AFTER I get everything all cleaned). Does anyone put any other chemical/powder preventative in there for lice/mites ?

I'm assuming they're lice because the eggs are at the base of the feather and not throughout it - I'll have to check everyone more closely tomorrow in the day light.

I'm in NH (it's around the 20's here right now) it was down in the -/0's last week (it'll get cold again w.out a doubt x( ) so airing out is a possibility too.

I'll hang in there - but jeesh I want to know when chickens got so difficult ? I spend more time with/on them than I do my horses! ! ! Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[Terri O]

Hey kimb--you asked about something for them to dust themselves in. What I use in my coop is wood ash mixed with a little Carbaryl. It is in a 14x14 square of 1x4s I found laying around. They seem to like to dust bathe in there. I think I will get some DE and use that instead of the chemical though...if I ever can get out of the driveway with all this snow! TErri O in WI

 

[bockbock2008]

Not sure if your chicks are too young or not but I used Ivermectin pour on for cattle and it worked great. I put on 5 drops on each adult standard chicken and 1-2 drops on my bantams.

 

[kimb]

I dusted EVERYONE x( ... jeeze I made a "dusting station" in my wheel barrow - they weren't impressed to say the least, for the time being I just moved all the bedding and dusted the floor/walls and then anything that they had been nesting in I removed - I had used a whole bag of pellets and would really prefer not to have to remove it all x( ... they all got vitamin water & fresh food (in cleaned containers!) ... tomorrow I might give everyone a drop of nutri-drench just to give them an extra boost incase they are getting drained from any bugs - but I wouldn't say I have an infestation since I have yet to see a live bug... (of course I know they're there though!).

My grain store carried prozap insectrin dust with permethrin that was ok'd for chickens (anyone use this before?)
http://watsonfeed.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/New_Products_012.251122858_std.JPG

Thanks TerriO for the suggestion - I was thinking of using a litter box or the horses ground feeders (but those can get pricey). I have scrap wood all over the place - did you line it with anything?

bockbock - I'm a little too nervous to try that on these guys - they're so "sensitive" as it is x( my luck the dust bath will probably kill half of them

... but hopefully not! ... we'll see how this does - I'm just glad I caught it before it became an infestation.

Should I dust my horses? they haven't come into contact with them - but they do share the barn alley wall... ... I thought it wouldn't hurt them, and to just be on the safe side.

 

[purpletree23]

Hey Kimb...I'm in NH also! I also don't remember chickens being such trouble. My small flock and I have been through a lot. First CRD, then a dog attack and then a broody hen and then a hawk took one of my new babies. The New Year is new start for both of us and our 'girls'. Hang in there and I will too.

Sounds like you were very busy today!! I'm sure everyone will be fine. Just remember to repeat application to the chickens at 10 days and then again at 10 days for good luck. Nutri Drench is a good idea. I always have a bottle of the stuff around and always seems to pep everyone up.

As far as your horses I don't know very much about them so I don't know if you would have to treat them for lice.

Keep us posted and have a wonderful New Year!

 

[kimb]

Thanks Purpletree ... I'll say you've had your run of bad luck too... Hopefully 2010 is a NEW year ! full of good luck! ...

NH - the great state of uncertainty - lol - (the weather channel tells it all - although it'd be nice if they were right every once in a while !)

I've still gotta do my 2 older hens in the big coop - but I ran out of daylight and there is just a "glimps" of spotlight shining on it from the house - they can wait until saturday for their "extreme home make over" ...

After I dusted everyone it only took a few minutes before the brave girls came back over looking for some treats

... so I didn't feel like the big mean monster they thought I was...

I've held off on naming them all (as that always seems to be the damnation of pets: to name them, that is) but I was thinking along the lines of "natural" disasters - LOL , but I'm thinking I probably don't need to jinx myself either - so maybe I'll give them all "hopeful" names.

We can hang in there together! (I think the next pets I will acquire are going to be rocks though

)...