Lice misery

[Nutfield Chickens]

Hi everyone. First time, very disheartened poster here. We are new to chickens, having moved into a new house with a large coop in the garden. After cleaning out the empty coop,in June We bought 5 hens from a reputable place. In August we came back from a holiday to find one hen not well. Lethargic, pale comb. I then realised she was crawling with lice. Her feathers were covered in the egg cases as well. I separated her, and treated her regularly with diatomaceous earth, tried to remove egg cases (impossible!) and scrubbed out the coop using premetherin. After 3 weeks she looked much better but I was still finding new, baby lice. I didn't see Any lice on the other hens but treated them anyway. A few days ago the same hen developed a swollen weeping eye, became very lethargic and died. In retrospect I don't think she was ever 'quite right', I'm not sure if she ever layed, and she was always the quiet one.

My problem is that despite using DE on the other hens several times, they all now have lice too. Nowhere near as bad as the first hen and they look otherwise healthy.

The hens are usually free range in the day, and I have been cleaning out the coop 1-2 x a week, using loads of DE. It's a large coop for 4 birds so never gets that dirty, and I'm at a loss how to get rid of the lice! Any tips gratefully received. Thanks.

 

[Lauren Kim]

This is an article that I saw by one of our fellow members!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/mites-lice-treatment-and-prevention.64597/

 

[trudyg]

DE doesn't work. Period. Since you have permethrin, use it on the birds and make sure it gets down to the skin, not just on the feathers. If they have lice on their faces, I usually moisten a cotton ball/cloth with permethrin and wipe it on them, avoiding their eyes. I think the timing is 5-7 days to retreat the bird. Do the coop at the same time. Do a search--blood sucking pests can be killed with ivermectin (an oil that enters their blood stream and kills anything eating the blood). Non-blood suckers need something on the surface, such as a spray or dust, that will coat them to kill them or maybe poison the dander that they eat. Ivermectin is easy. Get it at Tractor Supply along with a couple of syringes (no needle), suck up the amount you need into the syringe and squirt it between their shoulder blades. Repeat in 10 days. By the time you see the problem it's really bad and you must work diligently to get it under control.
We all have one thing or another come up and this site is great for advice and recommendations. Just read through and get an understanding.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi @Nutfield Chickens Welcome To BYC

I'm sorry you're having trouble.

Putting your location in your profile will help us help you I assume that you mention you went on "holiday" that you are in the UK or AU?

DE is not effective on active lice/mite infestations as you have found out You will need to use a poultry dust or spray that is Permethrin based or you can Spinosad.

Clean out your coop/bedding, etc. and treat all surfaces. Also treat each bird. Read your label, but usually you will need to re-treat the coop and birds again in 7-10days. Sometimes another application may need to be made in addition to that.

Give your flock a boost by providing poultry vitamins and some extra protein like egg or tuna.
Keep us posted.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Great article link above.

DE is, as stated ineffective in treating mites and lice.

If you can get your hands on wood ash (not charcoal briquette ash as it is toxic) add it to the dust bathing area. It won't stop an active infestation but will help prevent future.

Your birds are in need of a permethrin treatment.

Wyorp suggests a vitamin boost and I agree. It sure cannot hurt to give them a leg up.

 

[Nutfield Chickens]

Hi @Nutfield Chickens Welcome To BYC

I'm sorry you're having trouble.

Putting your location in your profile will help us help you I assume that you mention you went on "holiday" that you are in the UK or AU?

DE is not effective on active lice/mite infestations as you have found out You will need to use a poultry dust or spray that is Permethrin based or you can Spinosad.

Clean out your coop/bedding, etc. and treat all surfaces. Also treat each bird. Read your label, but usually you will need to re-treat the coop and birds again in 7-10days. Sometimes another application may need to be made in addition to that.

Give your flock a boost by providing poultry vitamins and some extra protein like egg or tuna.
Keep us posted.

Ho

 

[Nutfield Chickens]

Thanks for your reply and advice. Yes, I'm in the UK. I have searched everywhere online for permethrin powder, but I can't find any that say you can apply to the chicken - they all say for use in the coop (and in fact specifically state not for use on the bird). The spray is for cleaning housing so I assume also not for the bird. The only stuff for use on the bird seems to be the DE! Maybe I need to move to the US!!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hmmm....let's see if @rebrascora can chime in on what products might be recommended.
You might find something like these? http://www.chickenvet.co.uk/health-and-common-diseases/mites-lice/index.aspx

The article also mentions that you can use Ivermectin - I'm not sure if you can get that without a script, but it is effective for getting rid of mites/lice on birds, but you would still need to find something to treat the coop. Ivermectin is not labeled for use in poultry, so you would need to find an egg withdrawal period that you are comfortable with - looking at the slaughter timelines for other things, 30days would probably be about right.

 

[theoldchick]

Use cat flea shampoo and wash your chickens, soak, rinse well and allow them to dry. Meanwhile, attack the coop and clean it of all feces, straw and whatever debris is in there. You can wash the walls, floors, roosts with Dawn or the very same shampoo you used on the chickens. Rinse well and allow to dry. Before you allow the chickens to return to the coop spray well with approved livestock/barn spray and allow to dry. Spray everything-roosts, ground, walls windows and so forth. Before returning chickens to coop make sure you have adequate ventilation-add fans if you have to.

Remember this is war and you will have to attack from every angle to control these critters. Once you have done all this, get in the routine of weekly removal of feces/straw/debris and burn it. Spray your coop on a weekly basis. You may have to wash your chickens every week for three weeks to break up the life cycle. Washing severely affected birds is my favorite method as rinsing removes the product from the bird along with nits/eggs and dead mites.

Good luck and show no mercy to those mites!

 

[21hens-incharge]

My experience with Dawn dish soap.....

My Sister In Law brought her dog to my house while on vacation. It brought fleas.

I spent thousands trying to rid my pets and house of the dang things.

What finally actually worked was bathing every pet once a week with Dawn for 6 weeks. For the carpets and furniture I sprinkled oxyclean twice a day and vacuumed.
It was a severe infestation. Even the pest control people could not stop the nasties.

I swear by it these days.