Seasons greetings from down under! My two hens have had a minor lice problem for about a year now. Nothing serious, just getting annoying. I think we get them from the doves that fly in to feed on the chicken food. I'v treated the chickens repeatedly and they have adust bath which they use but show no substantial decline in lice. Should I add more sand to the dust bath? I'll try and get my hands on some ash. Any tips would be greatly appreciated thankyou. P.S, Here is a photo of the two kinds of lice we have.
Well, apart from dusting them with poultry dust you can bath them in lukewarm water with a drop of flea shampoo added and/or apply some diluted garlic oil directly to their skins. I hear that and feeding raw garlic helps repel bugs. Haven't tried it myself though, but it wouldn't hurt the chickens, so give it a try? Good luck!
I have read many various pros and cons of using ivermectin on chickens, but my vet recommended I use it for my chicken who had mites. I am not sure about lice. He said, just take a pea size of the paste when I worm the horses, and give it to each chicken.
If you wanted to try something more natural and long term I would recommend adding wood ash or diatomaceous earth to their usual dust bathing area. You can put in under the bedding in nest boxes and even bath each chicken in it. I just started doing this with mine and it's working well so far. Good luck!
Sevin dust will take care of lice. Redust your chickens again in 7-10 days. Do the same in the coop, nests, roosts.
Thanks everyone for the comments! We are using Pestene to help control the lice. The garlic idea sounds great and I'd love to try it. I'm planning on getting some wood ash in a week or two. I've been checking them over every day and directly treating them where I find lice. I've added pesticide to the dust bath (to which I still need to add ash). Thanks for your help, Happy new year!
It depends on what type of pesticide you use. Some have a waiting period others don't affect edibility. Just shop around and you'll be likely to find something that suits you. By the way, what the hell is your avatar!?!
Just keep in mind that using pesticides affects beneficial insects as well as our own health. It might not get into the eggs and meat but it is still poisoning an environment in which we are producing our food. Avatar is a partial shot of my standard poodle's lovely face.
