Lice!

[ErinG]

I am pretty sure we have a lice (louse?) problem...One of my girls (Buffy) has chewed up looking feathers. I suspected lice and dusted everyone with permethrin, then again 10 days later. The second dusting was Sunday. I just noticed this morning that Buffy has an area on her neck where they are really chewed, this looks new to me. I don't know that I dusted her neck very well, I know that I got her vent and body. I'm wondering if they retreated to the neck - I now know this is where they like to hang out anyway. My question is this, I'd like to try ivermectin instead, I really really hate dusting them, and they hate it too. Is this: http://www.amazon.com/Durvet-Ivermectin-Pour-On-250ML/dp/B000HHOEIU/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1305218206&sr=8-7

the same as Ivomec Pour on? It's significantly cheaper. $15 + shipping vs. $32 + shipping.

I'm blaming this on the darn starlings!

 

[chicmom]

Just want to ask one question....Do you have a rooster? The reason I'm asking is because my rooster really was hard on my hen's feathers......He had a favorite hen, and he pulled the feathers from her neck, and she looked pretty raggedy....

Could this be what has happened?

My flock got lice for the first time in the later winter, early spring. I was horrified! But I did the same thing you did, with the Seven dust twice. Also, I gutted the whole coop and sprinkled Seven dust everywhere. NO MORE LICE...

You're right, I also blame the wild birds.......DIRTY BUGGERS!

 

[ErinG]

No rooster and she has a whole patch of feathers missing on one side of her neck. When I look closely the entire base of her feather is eaten away. I will try to get pictures. She doesn't seem like herself either. I noticed her shaking her head a few days ago, that is probably why. I hate feeling like a bad mom

I just got them an under the bed storage container for dust bathing...I had a kitty litter pan and 3 of the 5 use it for bathing, but she wasn't one of them. I got something bigger so hopefully she will use it and keep them at bay after I medicate again.

 

[Blue]

Can you see any lice on the chickens when you look under their feathers? The lice like to get up near the head and near the vent area and are usually pretty easy to spot on the skin. I bought a pullet last summer who turned out to be just eaten up with lice when I got to looking at her after I brought her home (teach me to always look birds over before I buy them, I guess). I used two applications of poultry dust, and I couldn't find any lice after that, so your issue may be something else. Is it possible she's getting picked on by another hen? Two applications of Seven dust should've taken care of any lice.

 

[ErinG]

Here are some pictures of the area...not the greatest since I was trying to do it on my own, but you can see the chewed on area. The close up didn't show what I wanted, but you can see that the feathers are chewed to the shaft. I got them a larger dust bathing area, but no luck with them actually using it yet. It may take them a day or two to get used to it. I have not seen an actual louse on her, but will do a closer inspection once my helper gets home from work. Edited to add that she is the top hen - I doubt that she is being pecked, and it's not a bald spot, something is actually eating the feathers.

 

[Blue]

You're right. That doesn't look like something another chicken did, so it must be some kind of parasite. I still believe that all the Seven dust you used should've killed any lice. The only other parasite I can think of is mites. Even then, you should be able to see them if you look closely. The mites will most likely appear as tiny black specks, probably around the vent area, while the lice would be tiny white specks.

If it were me, I'd do at least one more round of lice dust and see if that solves the problem. Maybe the Seven dust just isn't working for you for some reason; you could try poultry dust (the can I have says for use in poultry and gardens, so I can protect my plants and my birds at the same time

) or something like Ivermectin. If it still persists after that, I'm stumped....unless you have some new strain of mutant parasites.

 

[chicken delighted]

i had this problem this winter . and what a mess, i used 7 dust but the need the dust from tractor supply for the poulrty. and cleared all the bedding out , washed roost and every dish, sprayed the whole area and then dried every thing out with a salamander. then even bathed them and had 20 + birds in my house over night, the smell of wet poulty,a smell one never forgets

no one told me to repeat in 7 days and i did not and back to square 1.

but the next time we redusted and washed every thing agian at dust at 7 days . so far NONONONONONONO mites. good luck!! just redust at 7 days please!!!!

 

[ErinG]

Oh man, I'm sorry you had to go through that 3 times

Here's the problem, if you aren't seeing bugs, how do you know when this is happening? Just keep an eye on her and watch for new chewed up spots? I dusted her neck today, I know I should have done her whole body. But she wasn't acting right today, kept to herself, she's usually the most outgoing, she also puffed up a few times. She is eating. Went to lay an egg, never did. And I found her egg yesterday in the run, which has never happened once. I don't know what's up with her. Egg bound? Sensitive to the permethrin? New food (I switched about 10 days ago to a new brand with higher protein)? Sickened by clueless neighbors (see my post entitled "The nerve"). Usually I can figure out what's going on with them and treat but she's got me stumped. I hope she perks up on her own tomorrow.