please help...poorly chickens

[ellie-x-x-x]

im only pretty new to having chickens, but a couple of weeks ago my cockeral had to be killed with an extreme case of lice. i only recently found this out though, when my chickens have got it too. although it seems only 4 of my 7 chickens have got it, but im using the right precautions with the other 3 too. ive sprayed them with mite and lice spray but now it looks like all their feathers are drying up and constantly have a really wet look, rather than their usually glossy feathers. i just dont know what to do. i dont want this to kill my chickens too

please help....

 

[dawg53]

Quote:
I recommend you dust them with sevin dust. It will effectively kill lice and mites. Make sure you redust them in 10 days. You'll also want to dust their coop, roosts and nests and redust again in 10 days. The reason you redust everything is to kill nits that have hatched from eggs since the first dusting, stopping their lifecycle.
Here's a link for you to read:
http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0018.html

 

[Mattemma]

I noticed my prolapsed hen has lice so I dusted her butt with sevin and then forcibly dusted all the others outside all over their bodies. I have read you can also give them a bath in flea/tick shampoo. Like human lice you have to retreat every few weeks to kill the hatchlings BEFORE they lay eggs.

I did not know lice could get so bad you have to kill the chicken.Eeeek I better get on the ball. I thought they just ate old skin on the chickens and did not suck blood.

 

[Melissa2173]

Is it a good practice to dust them as a preventative or only if they have lice? I'm getting ready to move mine outside soon so they don't have any yet.

 

[sonew123]

Quote:
Maybe they dont want to preen because of the spray you applied-makes them ill??? If one of your chickens has lice Im sure all of them have it-There is also Ivermectin pour on alot of use-or the Sevin dust as suggested by Dawg. Either way, If you had to kill your roo for such a bad infestation they all have it and the coops need a good cleaning and application of sevin to help keep those bugs at bay!

 

[dawg53]

Quote:
Either way is fine. When I clean out the inside of their house weekly and remove the soiled hay and replace it with fresh hay, I lightly dust the hay with sevin dust, then pat it down with a broom to settle it. Sometimes after removing the soiled hay, I toss some sevin dust in there and use my leaf blower on it...I guarantee you, the dust gets in every little crack and crevice. No lice/mite issues whatsoever.