Lice treatment?

[K R 2709]

I just found bugs on one of my chickens, I think that they are lice. The infestation is not serious. One of the other chickens in my flock is going to a show soon. Do all chickens have lice to some extent? Should I treat them? Please help ASAP
Thanks,

 

[Wyandottes7]

You should treat them. A bird with lice or mites will get disqualified at a show if a judge sees them. Chickens get lice and mites relatively easily, but you do not want them to have them. Mites and lice can damage feathers, weaken the birds, and make them uncomfortable.

 

[K R 2709]

Thanks I will treat them if at all possible. How can you treat them?

 

[Wyandottes7]

Thanks I will treat them if at all possible. How can you treat them?

I'm not sure what you can get in Canada, but here are some things that you can use:

Sevin powder (sold for gardens) is a great product. The 10% powder is better than the 5%. You just dust them around the vent and under the feathers of the body. Repeat the dusting in seven to ten days.

A product called Poultry Protector could be used as well. It is all-natural, but I have found it to not work as well as Sevin in getting rid of mites. It is more of a preventative measure, in my opinion.

Other products like Adam's Flea and Tick Shampoo (or the spray), or Frontline for dogs and cats, work too.

Hope this helps!

 

[K R 2709]

Thanks so much I will try to get some

 

[ellie32526]

I too have discovered lice or mites on my hens. At first I thought it was because of my rooster. Now I think I brought the little critters in on the hay. I put hay in the nest boxes. I never had problems until after I brought in the hay.

Here's what I plan to do.

Put DE in various places around the yard where they dust bathe.
Lock everybody out of the hen house and close all the doors and windows, remove the food and water. Set off a flea fogger inside.
Open doors and windows and turn on fans to air out the house before I let the hens back in.
Everyone gets a bath with pet flea shampoo.
Repeat each week for four weeks.

Anyone ever done anything similar?

 

[ellie32526]

I too have discovered lice or mites on my hens. At first I thought it was because of my rooster. Now I think I brought the little critters in on the hay. I put hay in the nest boxes. I never had problems until after I brought in the hay.

Here's what I plan to do.

Put DE in various places around the yard where they dust bathe.
Lock everybody out of the hen house and close all the doors and windows, remove the food and water. Set off a flea fogger inside.
Open doors and windows and turn on fans to air out the house before I let the hens back in.
Everyone gets a bath with pet flea shampoo.
Repeat each week for four weeks.

Anyone ever done anything similar?

Here's an update.
This morning I did all the above (except the repeat part) and found that only one of my roos had a raw bottom. His rear was red and rosy under all those fluffy feathers. Raw as hamburger meat. I felt so bad for him. So after I bathed him and put Vaseline on his feet, comb and wattles, I also greased his rear for him. Hope that helps to soothe the irritation.

None of my girls had red vents, all looked nice and pink and healthy. No signs of eggs on the feathers around the vent. I did have two that had a patch of broken feathers on their back right in front of the tail, and looked like some scabbing on the skin. But I bathed them all in flea shampoo anyway and put Vaseline on their feet. I told them today was a special day because they were all getting a bath and a foot massage. They decided I should get a bath as well and I ended up soaked. I think this was a two person job.

I'm not sure if they have lice or mites or what but I feel like this might have nipped it in the bud. I'll repeat in a week or so. Until next time then...

 

[K R 2709]

I got some lice dust for poultry/livestock. Hope it works

 

[ellie32526]

Here's an update.
This morning I did all the above (except the repeat part) and found that only one of my roos had a raw bottom. His rear was red and rosy under all those fluffy feathers. Raw as hamburger meat. I felt so bad for him. So after I bathed him and put Vaseline on his feet, comb and wattles, I also greased his rear for him. Hope that helps to soothe the irritation.

None of my girls had red vents, all looked nice and pink and healthy. No signs of eggs on the feathers around the vent. I did have two that had a patch of broken feathers on their back right in front of the tail, and looked like some scabbing on the skin. But I bathed them all in flea shampoo anyway and put Vaseline on their feet. I told them today was a special day because they were all getting a bath and a foot massage. They decided I should get a bath as well and I ended up soaked. I think this was a two person job.

I'm not sure if they have lice or mites or what but I feel like this might have nipped it in the bud. I'll repeat in a week or so. Until next time then...

Okay here's update number two. This week I got some Sevin dust and dusted their feathers. Still no sign of insects on any of my hens. The roo is the only one that looks odd. His rear is still beet red and looks painful. I did notice my other rooster is not very skilled at trying to mount my hens. He is kinda dorky. He runs up and grabs them anywhere and tries to jump on them. Most of the time they start screaming and they usually break free, leaving the dork holding a mouthful of feathers. So I started thinking - maybe my hens don't have an infestation at all, but the feather loss is caused by my dorky rooster trying to mount the hens. Still trying to figure out why my predominant rooster has such a red rear end. He does not act sick in any other way. I did not see any evidence of infestation on him, just that red raw rear end. Anyone have a guess?