Lice Treatment

[Blue_Myst]

I've noticed wild birds hanging around my chickens more than I'd like, and now my hens have lice

And there is a LOT! I swear I saw thirty of them on the skin at the back of my hen's tail! They've only been in that coop for about three months, I don't know how I haven't noticed this until now.

So, what do I do? I want to find the least-toxic way to deal with this, but I know DE isn't going to do much good at this point.

(1) What is Sevin Dust, and how toxic is it? Is it the same one that you see advertised for garden pest control? Spray or powder?

(2) Does 8 in 1 Lice and Mite Spray work on chickens? I know I can get that for certain.

(3) Ivomec, how toxic is it? This sounds like the easiest option, but I can't find any sold specifically for chickens.

(4) And, the coop, should I pick up some DE and just dust the whole coop with it? Would that be enough? I don't feel comfortable spreading chemicals around my chicken coop if I don't have to.

Thank you for any advice!

I want to nip this thing in the butt before it gets out of hand. And I'm boarding up those small open places in my coop to make sure no more sparrows can squeeze their way in.

 

[max101]

Pyrethrin dust is very effective on lice and mites and much less harmful to the environment than Sevin Dust.
It can be called chicken dust or poultry dust...just make sure you look at the label, pyrethrin was originally made from chrysanthemums and now it is made in the lab, but it is not harmful to the environment like Sevin. There are lots of nasty chems in Sevin. DE is a good preventative after you have them all eradicated.
Im from oz so I pinched this off another thread hope no one minds.