Lice

[EstelleAdler]

I found lice on the eggs today, and when I checked their feathers afterward I found an early infestation. I will use PSP to treat the birds and the coop, but do I need to treat the sand in the run?

 

[aart]

but do I need to treat the sand in the run?

No. Lice generally stay on the birds and can't survive off of them.
Make sure you get the treatment under the feather and on their skin.
Treat again in 5-7 days to get any newly hatched.

 

[sandburRanch]

In the run provide the chickens a opportunity to dust bathe in wood ashes . With those same wood ashes dissolved in water wash the roosts .

 

[Shadrach]

I found lice on the eggs today, and when I checked their feathers afterward I found an early infestation. I will use PSP to treat the birds and the coop, but do I need to treat the sand in the run?

Do give your chickens a very thorough health check. Healthy well kept chickens don't tend to get lice and often a louse infestaion is a sign of other health/hygine problems. Poop accumulation on feathers below the vent, check vent health and make sure they have access to dirt for bathing.

 

[EstelleAdler]

Do give your chickens a very thorough health check. Healthy well kept chickens don't tend to get lice and often a louse infestaion is a sign of other health/hygine problems. Poop accumulation on feathers below the vent, check vent health and make sure they have access to dirt for bathing.

They have been healthy. They have lots of sand for dust bathing and I see them at it all the time. They do always have some poop on their feathers - no diarrhea or vent gleet, just too much fluff I think. I've been treating bumblefoot - they had a roost that was up too high. We do have a high wild bird population, but they're only exposed to that about an hour a day when I let them out on the grass. They are a little overcrowded. We fell pray to the marketing statement, "fit for 6+ small breed chickens". Their new coop is in the mail - a producer's pride Defender - and their living quarters will more than double. In the interim, I've tried to keep them clean and let them out frequently.

 

[Shadrach]

They have been healthy. They have lots of sand for dust bathing and I see them at it all the time. They do always have some poop on their feathers - no diarrhea or vent gleet, just too much fluff I think. I've been treating bumblefoot - they had a roost that was up too high. We do have a high wild bird population, but they're only exposed to that about an hour a day when I let them out on the grass.

If there are only a few lice around the vent area then it could just be dirty feathers. I get it with the hens I care for from time to time. Permethrin will kill the lice off and a feather cut/clean below the vent might help to stop the lice returning.

 

[aart]

We do have a high wild bird population, but they're only exposed to that about an hour a day when I let them out on the grass.

This is the most likely reason for lice to transfer to your chickens.
What is their run like, can wild birds get thru the mesh?

 

[EstelleAdler]

This is the most likely reason for lice to transfer to your chickens.
What is their run like, can wild birds get thru the mesh?

Wild birds have no access to the run or the coop. The only time the chickens interact with wildlife is when they are let out on the grass. It doesn't seem like the wild birds get very close to the chickens. They seem to make each other nervous.

I'm almost in disbelief that it could be lice, but it looks like lice eggs on feather shafts with sandy debris in their down. There were definitely small sandy bugs crawling on their eggs yesterday, and after checking over the nesting boxes and the coop, I could find no insect life anywhere else. Presumably they came from the chickens.

 

[aart]

Presumably they came from the chickens.

Best find out for sure before treating.
There are a lot of insects out there and most will not harm chickens.
What part of the world are you living?

Check them over real well for mites and/or lice.

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).

Good post about mite ID by Lady McCamley:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-chicken-has-mites-now-what.1273674/page-2#post-20483008

 

[EstelleAdler]

Best find out for sure before treating.
There are a lot of insects out there and most will not harm chickens.
What part of the world are you living?

Check them over real well for mites and/or lice.

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).

Good post about mite ID by Lady McCamley:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-chicken-has-mites-now-what.1273674/page-2#post-20483008

We are two hours from Las Vegas in Southern Utah. I saw the same bugs on their water container a few weeks ago, but I didn't think much of it.