Lice! Help!

[mtnchickens303]

Today one of our hens was acting strange and sluggish so I took a look at her and she has lice! Even worst I inspected the rest of the hens AND they have it too! So 5 out of 6 have it and I didn't check the last one because she is sitting on eggs...

What steps do I take in getting medication to treat this asap?

How do I treat the hen sitting on eggs?

How do I effectively clean the coop, run ect?

Can I medicate my pullets just to be sure I get them all?

How many treatments?

In all my years of having chickens I've never had and parasites. This is totally my fault, because when i adopted these hens i didnt dust for them and i knew better! Please help!

 

[tearooster]

Hi there! Are they lice or mites? Lice are small cream colored bugs. Mites are very small little clear bugs with black in the middle. Very small. Lice and or mites can be treated easily I use this powder for killings bugs in gardens. It's called 7- Dust. I buy it from Home Depot but you can also find it in most hardware stores. You dust it on the chickens and rub it through their feathers with your fingers. Clean the coops and dust everywhere on the ground. And if you put sawdust or hay in your coops, then dust before and after you add hay/ sawdust. That's it

 

[tearooster]

Treat them 10 days after your first treatment. With the hen sitting on the eggs just dust the hen and dust the nest+ on top of eggs. Won't hurt them it's just a powder. You can also pour it all in their dusting area.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

x3

A handy device to dust is use an old nylon sock and fill it with the powder and "powder puff" them.

The heavily infested one you may want to "shake and bake"...place in a garbage bag with head out then shake dust in the bag around the hen. That helps to really dust the bird without getting so much on yourself.

Totally must repeat in 10 days, and if bad infestation, 10 days again.

Always keep the Poultry Dust (I prefer the permethrin type) under the litter in the coop. I also like to use "Orange Guard" as it is a natural pest detractor. I clean the coops, lay down poultry dust, put bedding on top, spray all corners and crevices with Orange Guard...really, really helps.

Then keep the poultry dust on their area they dust...they will do a good job of dusting themselves with it to keep down infestations after you've gotten them through this bout.

LofMc

 

[mtnchickens303]

There are eggs at the base of the feathers and i didnt see any mites. Adult lice were on the hens pretty bad. The good news is we have 7-dust I think and tomorrow I'll get them all treated. Thank you all so much, that was not fun to find out but BLESS THE INTERNET AND THIS SITE! This site was a way cool find, thank you all one last time lol

 

[pdirt]

I've cured both lice and mites using just ashes from our wood stove. Two treatments, the second 10 days after the first. Worked great, nothing to buy and way less toxic than any of those insect dusts.

 

[kimthom66]

Hi there! Are they lice or mites? Lice are small cream colored bugs. Mites are very small little clear bugs with black in the middle. Very small. Lice and or mites can be treated easily I use this powder for killings bugs in gardens. It's called 7- Dust. I buy it from Home Depot but you can also find it in most hardware stores. You dust it on the chickens and rub it through their feathers with your fingers. Clean the coops and dust everywhere on the ground. And if you put sawdust or hay in your coops, then dust before and after you add hay/ sawdust. That's it

Do you eat the eggs during this treatment? I too have just discovered something on my hens...It's around their vents and I've had hens experience feather loss so I am assuming they all have it and have heard you need to treat all! Do you powder them, then clean out the coop and powder? I'm assuming it all has to be done the same day? And if you re-powder the hens in 10 days do you clean out and re-powder the coop as well?

 

[kimthom66]

I've cured both lice and mites using just ashes from our wood stove. Two treatments, the second 10 days after the first. Worked great, nothing to buy and way less toxic than any of those insect dusts.

I had my husband pull ashes from our wood stove last night and set it out in a litter dish to see if they would take sand baths in it, but you dust them with it like the powder puff method? I'm desperate, I've just noticed these creatures but it seems to be the answer as to the feather loss I have been seeing! I would love to try something not so toxic as I do not want to throw my limited eggs away!

Also I have two coops but I free range everyone together, should I treat everybody?

 

[kimthom66]

After doing some research I am thinking of mixing Food grade DE with the wood ash we have and dusting my hens with this? Or should I use Garden & Poultry dust with Permethrin?

Also if I dust my chickens tonight after they have gone to bed, I won't be able to clean out the coop until tomorrow? So should I clean out and dust the coop first and then dust the hens? Or dust the hens and do the coop in the morning? Help!

 

[Lady of McCamley]

DE can be effective against external parasites. It is composed of silica (from the bodies of dead sea animals...diatoms). It is thought to act like an abrasive literally cutting up the insects (sort of like ground glass). It unfortunately can be very irritating to the respiratory tracts of man and beast, with some very sensitive. Silicosis is caused by extended exposure to silica. It is a permanent scarring of the lung tissue. I prefer not to use DE as I tend towards asthma. If you do use it, use appropriate mask. Because of that, I am hesitant to use around birds. If you choose to use it, always use food grade DE never pool grade.

Wood ash is helpful in prevention. It acts more like regular dirt, smothering the bugs as the bird dusts. It won't have a residual effect like Permethrin which continues to kill the insects that walk over it. I like to put wood ash in the dusting bath area. Be sure to remove any nails or stuff. Also be sure it never gets wet and sits as that produces lye.

I prefer Permethrin Poultry Dust to Sevin Dust (carbaryl). Sevin (carbaryl) is no longer approved for poultry use (although many still use it). Carbaryl is the old flea dusting powder you could get in the stores. I personally do not like the smell of it, and it seems to trigger my asthma a bit, but it is effective.

I have used Permethrin with great success, so I choose to remain approved for poultry and avoid asthma flare ups. Permethrin, derived from chrysanthemum either directly or synthetically, actually kills insects. It has a high residual effect, meaning it sticks around, which is very beneficial. Studies show it to be very effective against mites and lice. Over time, they can gain a resistance to it, but I've not noted any additional problems over the years in my flock with continued use.

It is best to do it all in one day. Clean coop, dust birds, put out dusting powder in coop and dusting area in run as well. Then stay on top of it. If you use something like Permethrin or Sevin you have the help of the chemical residual effect also helping to get on top of things.

LofMc