My chickens have some sort of lice!

[Shadowfire]

Hello everyone, my chickens have come down with another case of chicken lice or some other sort of bug living in their feathers. While I was grooming my rooster I noticed some little pinkish bugs in and around the father shafts, I think they are lice. I didn't check my other chickens yet but I'm assuming they have the lice too because of how fast they spread, and the bugs were an issue for my roo and hens last year. What treatment is best for chicken lice, and does this treatment work for all chicken feather-pests?

Thank you!

 

[Flockandfowl46]

Permethrin spray or dust...sorry about this half arse post but my phone went wonky yesterday

 

[aart]

Hello everyone, my chickens have come down with another case of chicken lice or some other sort of bug living in their feathers. While I was grooming my rooster I noticed some little pinkish bugs in and around the father shafts, I think they are lice. I didn't check my other chickens yet but I'm assuming they have the lice too because of how fast they spread, and the bugs were an issue for my roo and hens last year. What treatment is best for chicken lice, and does this treatment work for all chicken feather-pests?

Thank you!

Google for images to be sure of what you have.
But permethrin spray or dust is the best place to start.

 

[Shadowfire]

Here's the best picture I could get of them. They are very fast.

 

[aart]

Looks like a louse to me:

Get some permethrin on all the birds.

 

[Shadowfire]

Okay, thank you! Where can I get a permathrin medication? Is it sold at Tractor supply co. or will I have to mail-order?

 

[Flockandfowl46]

This is what I use it's concentrated so you can mix it in a spray bottle and it's usually at any feed or farm supply store in livestock flu control section

 

[SueZoo]

Sevin dust ( carbaryl 5%) and DE work too- DE by itself hasn't been really effective in my experience but I alternate between it and Sevin and that works. You must REALLY COVER THE BIRDS SKIN , the entire body, being careful not to fill the air with the dust as this is not good for the birds. But get powder everywhere on each bird and treat the entire flock with a second treatment in 5-7 days to kill newly hatched lice because eggs(nits) are impervious to treatment. I try to pluck as many nit infested feathers as possible but you won't get them all if it's more than a very mild infestation. And the darned lice DO bite people, even tho they don't stay on us . Their bites ate terribly itchy, way worse than flea bites , imo. I HATE LICE

 

[Folly's place]

Permethrin works very well and is approved for chickens with no egg withdrawal. The spray concentrate is least expensive and easiest to use. At night while they are roosting, take a small flashlight out there (a headlamp is great) and spray all the birds, and the coop for good measure.
DE is pretty useless, and bad to inhale for all of us.
Carbaryl is not approved for use on chickens in the USA, so avoid it.
Wear a N95 or better face mask, long sleeves, and gloves, when using any product.
Mary

 

[Sue Gremlin]

Good photo. That's a louse.