Lice or Mites?

[Avent]

Can anyone tell me if this is Lice or mites or neither? My hen is losing feathers and I lost one about a week ago. I'm very worried she will die too. I've dusted her with DE and sevin 5% but she's still losing feathers and beginning to act a bit lethargic.

Thanks for any info.

 

[jhm47]

Looks like pinfeathers to me.

 

[Avent]

yes, I agree, but that's what my other hen looked like before she died so I'm not sure if it's pin feather.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Could she be molting at this time of year?
I too see pin feathers.

 

[Niecie]

I have a mite problem. I clean my coop every evening before my girls go to bed. I have 7 hens. I have vacuum out all the pine shaving and cleaned my coop with insectrin x concentrate and have dusted them twice with Garden & poultry dust. They seem to leave and then come back. I am new to chickens. I got my girls at the end of june 2014. What am I doing wrong?

 

[lazy gardener]

Mites will live in the nooks and crannies of your coop, not just in the bedding. An other favorite hiding place is in the nest box. In order to get rid of a mite infestation, you'll need to do a complete clean out, wash with a product which will kill them: you could use liquid dawn and bleach or vinegar. You'll need to be sure the coop is dry and no more odor from the cleaning agent. Then you'll need to dust all of the nooks and crannies with a safe to use insecticide. I used permethrin garden and poultry dust. Pay special attention to the roosts and nest boxes. I use a gloved hand to apply the dust to the perch and rub it in, and get a nice dusting in the crack where the perch meets the wall. You'll also need to dust the birds at the same time. You'll need to burn the shavings, or otherwise get them off your property. Then, depending on the temperature, you'll need to repeat this whole process again in one week to 10 days whether you see any mites or not. When I treated, I also used ivermectin pour on on the birds, (not at the same time as using the dust) and also treated the area around the coop. Since using aromatics in the nest box, I've not had any mite issues in the coop.

 

[lazy gardener]

Can anyone tell me if this is Lice or mites or neither? My hen is losing feathers and I lost one about a week ago. I'm very worried she will die too. I've dusted her with DE and sevin 5% but she's still losing feathers and beginning to act a bit lethargic.

Thanks for any info.

Do a thread or google search for feather lice. You should get some excellent photos. Then you can use a magnifying glass to see if that's what you're dealing with.

 

[jhm47]

I only see pinfeathers, but there might be mites/lice that I am missing. I'd be more worried about internal parasites like roundworms if the hen is losing weight and lethargic. You might try ivomec. That would take care of most internal parasites (except tapeworms) and external ones too.

 

[Niecie]

Thank you Lazy Gardener! I totally appreciate you helping me. Can I put ceadar shavings in with the pine shavings?