Lice

[LRavis]

I’m pretty certain one of my hens has lice...last weekend I cleaned out all the bedding and nesting boxes, sprayed with water/white vinegar, put DE everywhere, and dusted the hen and the other three who live in her coop/run with DE. I read that I should be repeating this process once a week for three weeks...I’ve been checking her everyday since and she hasn’t had any more of what I suspect are lice...so I went out there to do the process all over again and she has the little bugs around her vent and butt area again. None of the other hens do. Should I bathe her? Or maybe do the cleaning/dusting process earlier than every week? Any suggestions would be helpful thank you!

 

[Laura_BelgianBantams_63]

Use lice spray or powder. I have attached some pictures. You are taking the right steps in the correct direction. If you want to bathe her, do so. Afterwards, use lice powder or spray.

 

[LRavis]

Thank you for the information. Will DE not work to get rid of it?

 

[Laura_BelgianBantams_63]

Thank you for the information. Will DE not work to get rid of it?

DE does help, but I would recommend the lice treatment for the chooks.

 

[Painted Calls]

DE does nothing but irritate the respiratory system. It really should not be used. There will be people that claim it's great. Truth is that it's not.

Here is a good starting place for lice treatment.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/thoughts-s-about-mites.1408596/post-23124940

 

[LRavis]

DE does nothing but irritate the respiratory system. It really should not be used. There will be people that claim it's great. Truth is that it's not.

Here is a good starting place for lice treatment.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/thoughts-s-about-mites.1408596/post-

 

[LRavis]

So for the last two weeks I cleaned out the coop, sprayed it down with vinegar and put de down. I dusted all the hens. I did this every Sunday. So this week I checked the infested hen every day and didn’t see anything. Her feathers were starting to look much better by her back end area and her comb was getter redder than the pale pink it had been. By Saturday I noticed a few lice by her vent, so I sprayed her there with Davis Poultry Spray which was recommended here...the next day, Sunday, my big cleaning day, there were more and another hen has a few...I thought I was winning the war...should I just keep at it vigilantly?? Should I change my big cleaning day to disrupt the life cycle? I read I’m supposed to do it every 7-10 days so I was doing it every Sunday...but by Sunday they seem to be back. I don’t really want to bathe them because it’s like in the thirties here now...

 

[LRavis]

So for the last two weeks I cleaned out the coop, sprayed it down with vinegar and put de down. I dusted all the hens. I did this every Sunday. So this week I checked the infested hen every day and didn’t see anything. Her feathers were starting to look much better by her back end area and her comb was getter redder than the pale pink it had been. By Saturday I noticed a few lice by her vent, so I sprayed her there with Davis Poultry Spray which was recommended here...the next day, Sunday, my big cleaning day, there were more and another hen has a few...I thought I was winning the war...should I just keep at it vigilantly?? Should I change my big cleaning day to disrupt the life cycle? I read I’m supposed to do it every 7-10 days so I was doing it every Sunday...but by Sunday they seem to be back. I don’t really want to bathe them because it’s in the thirties now. And I don’t won’t to give them anything commercial I try to keep everything as natural as possible.

 

[azygous]

Permethrin and spinosad are two safe and natural biological insecticides very effective and safe. Read labels, though. You want an insecticide without any petroleum distillates which can kill chickens. Some manufacturers insist on putting petroleum distillates in everything.

I use a product called Elector PSP (spinosad) One treatment and lice are gone for good. Even kills the nits. Permetrhin is easy to find and just as effective, but another treatment usually is needed about the time the nits hatch.

 

[Folly's place]

Permethrin spray concentrate is inexpensive and effective, and labeled for use on poultry and in poultry housing, with no egg withdrawal. Spinosad is also safe and effective, and very expensive, and has to be ordered online most often.
DE and the Davis product are pretty ineffective, as you've discovered.
Mites and lice come in on wild birds, and it can be a real pain to keep those cute little songbirds out of the coop, when they find the chicken feed!
If one bird has either mites or lice, assume everyone also has them, and treat the flock and their coop.
Mary