Lice,lice and more lice

[Tacampbell1973]

So I have been battling a severe case of what I believe to be lice with my banty hen. I have treated her first with Poultry Protector and did not get the rapid response that I wanted with that so I moved to dog flea spray. I have been picking dead lice off of her every day. She has numerous problems working against her, To start she has been broody for a month now so is not dustbathing regularly, in hindsight I am not sure if it is because she doesnt feel well to begin with, also she has a broken tip on upper beak so subsequently cannot pick bugs off of hersel f. I have only started to handle her since she has been broody and only at first to get her down to eat meals and drink and poop. So consequently , and i feel awful for this, I have no idea how long she has been a lice farm, but suspect it has been a while. She has stopped laying altogether, and when I turned her over I figured out why.At first I thought she had pasty butt,and I was trying to figure out how an adult hen gets pasty butt, when I looked closer I realized it was the biggest cluster of nits I had ever seen. Took two days and a lot of vaseline and neosporin to remove but bless her little bitty chicken heart she is a trooper and I will never stop trying to win this battle. I am desperatly trying to help her. The vet wanted $70 just to look at her and couldn't give me any advice over the phone. Thank you to everyone at this forum because without your encouragement, and advice I would have never known what to do for this poor bird, who incidentally I have named Begawky. She is just the sweetest animal I have ever had the joy of knowing and look forward to many more years with her.​

 

[Eggcessive]

If you have other chickens, they will probably have it too. You also need to clean out the nest boxes and coop bedding and get rid of it or burn it. Many people recommend Sevin dust or Ivermectin topical for lice. Treatment needs to be repeated on day 10 after first treatment.

 

[Tacampbell1973]

Hello Eggcessive and tthank you for your timely advice. Once again I am so grateful to belong to this family of chicken enthusiasts, without which I would be lost. I just need to clarify that with the Sevin dust, I have 5%, but is it really ok to dust the actual bird with it? I would have thoughht it would be too strong to apply directly. Also I googled poultry lice and they said Maliathon would be sufficient for spraying the coop and run. Am getting mixed replies on whether or not Diatomaceous Earth works or not. Again thank you so much for your time from both me and my birdies.

 

[ernie85017]

DE is good in their dust bathing site. And wood ashes. They are not cures, but can help the hen deal with prevention when she dustbathes. Both work to dessicate the louse's body. I use Eprinex pour on (for cattle) on the backs of their necks periodically and never see a bug on them. Just a few drops. Seven is good until you can get the other.

 

[Tacampbell1973]

Thank you mr Ernie.I did get someDE but it says its meant to be a feeding additive? Did I get the wrong thing? I powdered the birds with Permithrrin dust for gardens, pets and livestock, malathioned the wood in the coop and sevined the straw inside coop and outside the run as well. I covered the outside in grass hay to cover the sevin, plus ground was wet. Take that lice..