Lice question

[trudyg]

So I washed a dirty butt this morning and, while I had her, looked for any bugs. Didn't see anything--nothing moving, no spots or scabs or specks, no nits. Finished the wash hours ago. Now, reading my kindle, a tiny gray bug walks across the screen. Kind of longer than wide, so I'm assuming it's a louse. From the chicken? Not a louse? Should I treat for bugs now? Since it must have come off of me, should I do anything other than shower and change clothes? Possibly not related the the chicken bath at all?

 

[Folly's place]

Look at your birds under the feathers on their necks, backs, under wings, in addition to the vent area. It's not hard to miss seeing a few, and some birds will have many more than others.
Maybe your little bug is unrelated to the chickens, but I'd be looking too!
Mary

 

[trudyg]

I looked at all those places and didn't see anything. Had the roo up too, for his legs, and didn't see any on him either. I'm worming this coming Wednesday, so I'll give everyone a good check then while I'm getting each one up. I"ve tried everything to get them easy to pick up, but no go. They're really wary and I'm really slow. So, at night it is. I did go on and put sevin dust in the nest boxes, all over the roosts and floor (wood chip bedding) and added some to the sand pile they dust bathe in. Will be doing a more thorough clean out/spraying next week, maybe on Wed if I take the day off. Company coming shortly or I'd do it today.

 

[Folly's place]

Permethrin is really a better choice; it's approved for use with no egg withdrawal time. the spray concentrate is easier to use and very inexpensive.
Carbaryl has been off the list for poultry for some years now.
Mary

 

[trudyg]

I've got permethrin spray ready to go, just had sevin dust canister right at hand. I don't hold eggs anyway, it's just me eating them and most of what I dose chickens with is also used in human medicine, so I don't think I'd get anywhere close to a full dose by eating 4 eggs a day.

 

[Sue Gremlin]

I don't think there's any reason to assume the bug was from your chickens. There are bugs of all shapes and sizes everywhere! I don't think you should treat based on that.

 

[aart]

I don't think there's any reason to assume the bug was from your chickens. There are bugs of all shapes and sizes everywhere! I don't think you should treat based on that.

Ditto Dat^^^

I don't treat unless I see bugs on the birds:
Google images of lice/mites and their eggs before the inspection so you'll know what you're looking for.

Part the feathers right down to the skin around vent, head/neck and under wings.

Best done well after dark with a strong flashlight/headlight, easier to 'catch' bird and also to check for the mites that live in structure and only come out at night to feed off roosting birds.

Wipe a white paper towel along the underside of roost to look for red smears(smashed well fed mites).

 

[trudyg]

Per google images, this did look like a louse. The kindle was backlit, so it looked gray, almost clear, and was easy to squish and kill. I looked her over and saw nothing. The roo I looked at but not as close (he's not happy being handled). I have permethrin spray but don't want to use it unless I actually see something. Most of my birds are now molting, except the 18 week olds and the one who was broody recently. I'm treating for tapes after having seen some in poops on the board, did wazine and 7 days later round 1 of equimax. Day 10 for redose is this Wednesday, so I plan on giving each one a very thorough going over then.

 

[aart]

I looked her over and saw nothing.

They can be hard to see.
Gotta get those butt feathers parted down to the skin fast before they all run away.

 

[trudyg]

I managed to snag another of the hens last night and washed her butt, got a really good look all over her but didn't see any bugs. Did see some black specks in her feathers, but that could have been from dust bathing. No egg clusters at base of any feathers. On this last one, I noticed also that her crop area was squishy, so I may be dealing with ascites (or whatever the thing is when they get like a water balloon). Will have to research that since it's a first for me. Usual crop is more like a tennis ball area and this was more widespread, to the point she's losing some breast feathers from the sagginess. Seems like when I have 1 issue then more come into play.