Please help with questions regarding lice & housing. I feel so awful.

[schmedlap]

I use DE regularly to dust their bedding area and the floor of their house. I start with a 25 lb. bag and then dump the rest in their "run" for them to take their baths in. It's not food grade DE. I get it from a pool supply house, as it is used as a filter medium. I'm not sure what the difference is, but I have not seen any ill effects (been doing this for years). Is this effective? Is there any chance I could be hurting my girls?

 

[RavalliSurfer]

I tried the pyrithione, but it failed over and over.

Ultimately, I found a treatment that actually worked. I got powdered Sevin (carbaryl) in an old dock and as I grabbed my chickens by the feet, I powdered their vents, under each wing (arnmpits?) and let them go into their run.

I took mineral oil and wiped down their roosts and cleaned out all the shredded hay in the coop and laying boxes.

When I put them in for the evening, I sprayed their legs and feet with mineral oil again.

The next morning, they were released normally into the run, but had to take a few steps on an old terrycloth bar towel, soaked in new transmission fluid. It's red, so I could see it on each bird's feet.

The mites live on the perches by day and wait for dark to re-infest the birds. It's a losing battle to not kill the mites so they can't keep the cycle alive.

Oil of pretty much any kind will smother the bloodsucking mites. It clogs their book lungs and they suffocate.

The Sevin/Cabaryl has a very short half life and you can pretty much put it on your Cheerios.....it's that safe and totally non-residual.

I use the dust as a preventative to insure against wild birds bringing more mites into my small flock. My wife and I had 4 flocks of 25-30 birds each when I first married her, and this is the same technique that I used on all those birds too.

We only lost three hen's to a cross-sexed perverted horny rabbit that ripped the necks of our hen's when he had sex with them.

Crazy rabbit! He died via a .410 shotgun.


Addendum...
The development of the carbamate insecticides has been called a major breakthrough in pesticides.

The carbamates do not have the persistence of chlorinated pesticides.

Although toxic to insects, carbaryl is detoxified and eliminated rapidly in vertebrates.

It is neither concentrated in fat nor secreted in milk, so is favored for food crops, at least in the US.

It is the active ingredient in Carylderm shampoo used to combat head lice in children and adults.

.

 

[Bob 1313]

We use Ivermectin. A few drops on the back of their necks near shoulders(?) where they can't get at it. Every week to ten days for three applications. Works like some of the flea treatments for dogs and cats.

 

[UluLaté]

It's been on and off cold and rainy where I am and because of some chronic pain issues I can't spend much time outside in the winter. I have been totally cleaning out my bantam coop as often as I can. It's a prefab coop with some reinforcements and not very big. There are four d'Anvers in it. I keep wood shavings in the coop and mulch in the run. Food and water are kept in the run. I bought this coop used two years ago.

My girls were healthy before winter and now they are covered in lice. I brought them home late fall and I'm wondering if the lice came home from 1-2 of the birds. The birds are acting ok but I want to treat them asap. I have bought a 1/2 gallon sprayer and permethrin 10 based off of another post on this forum I found on google. My plan is to bathe all four birds in Dawn to complete rid them of lice, completely pull out everything in the coop, and spray the birds/drench the coop in permethrin. I have a few questions I am really hoping to get help with.

1.) Will treating my birds and spraying down the coop be enough? Do I need to buy a new coop? I will if need be. I am already planning an upgrade but finding a reliable person to construct one is proving difficult.

2.) d'Anvers are a bearded breed. My poor girls have nits crusting their beard feathers. Do I pull out these feathers? Their little faces would be naked. I was told to try white vinegar to break them apart. Are there other options? Is pulling these feather best?

3.) Is there a better bedding I should be using?

Thank you...no need to scold me for not doing more thorough checks as I can't feel worse than I already do

Hi Bantamgirl,

I had a similar problem at a point. I filled a hundred gallon galvanized water tank with the appropriate ratio of permethrin and literally dunked each bird. I added more permethrin to make the ratio appropriate for dogs and goats and gave each a dip in the delousing tank. Then I filled up biuckets and used the remainder to douse the barn, including laying boxes, walls, you name it. It is best to clear out all debris and hay and wood chips first so that you are treating the structure, floor, etc. I allowed everything to dry and air out while animals were drying off. Then I laid out fresh bedding and put everyone back in the barn at the end of the day. Worked like a charm. All creepy crawlers were immediately gone and I never had another problem.....until we got a new rooster. I had kept him separate, luckily, in a small dog kennel for three days before introducing him to the flock. I checked him as I was about to put him in with the girls and he was teaming with the little critters. I prepared the appropriate dilution in a 5 gallon bucket and dunked him. The remainder was used on the small dog kennel. When he had dried off, he was put in the coop with the girls. Haven’t seen any since.

I’ve sprayed other bugs with the spray. It’s very effective stuff. So while I used it liberally (per the instructions), when I had a problem, I would think it a good policy to use it only when absolutely necessary. I don’t allow my children to be around or help when I use permethrin.

Best of luck!

 

[Sea Wolf]

Do not bathe them in Dawn, vinegar or anything else. Do not pull feathers out. Simply spray them with the permethrin. Even better, I make up a 5 gallon bucket of the solution. I take each bird, one at a time, hold them by their legs and dunk and slosh each bird in the solution making sure the whole bird is wet with it everywhere, right to the skin. Turn the bird loose and they will shake off the excess and dry off. Only one treatment is necessary. I then clean out the coop and before I put down new shavings I also spray the inside completely making sure to get all cracks and spaces really good. Add clean shavings and spray those in layers a few times too. I do this once a year and never have mites.

And yes, any new birds always need to be quarantined for at least a few weeks until you can observe them and examine them to make sure you aren't introducing something. I once lost most of my flock to a respiratory infection because a "nice man" was giving away all of his birds and I took 3 and added them. Turns out he knew they were sick and just decided to give them all away instead of trying to treat them. Never told the folks he gave them to.

The permethrin is quite safe. I even make up a different percentage and spray my outdoor clothing with it. Ticks will get on you in the woods and grass outside but they will die. You can actually buy clothing that is pre treated but folks have no idea you can do this yourself.

 

[Yorkshiregal]

So this post has got me worried in a good way! So I see prevention is better than cure. I haven’t seen or experienced mites/lice or any other infestation yet and I’m sure that’s all luck. It never really crossed my mind to be honest ughh! I have seen mice in the coop
So I rescued 3 barn cats to help with that problem and it seems to be working. My outside run is netted so no birds!
I plan on a big spring clean when the weather is better so I’m thinking a good old spray down of permethrin will do the trick? This has been a great eye opener post. Thanks for all the advice and I hope your chickens recover soon!!!

 

[aart]

so I’m thinking a good old spray down of permethrin will do the trick?

Do not use permethrin(or any pesticide) as a preventative,
you can create resistance...
...save it for if you really need it.
Examine them regularly for bugs.
My Bug Check notes:
Have you checked 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

 

[Yorkshiregal]

Ok thank you! That makes sense!!!! I’ve seen them on my kids lol! I’ll wipe down the roosts tonight. I have looked and seen nothing on them. I like the sound of the mineral oil. I’ll read all links thank you.

 

[RavalliSurfer]

The IVERMECTIN warning...

Ivermectin Drops are usually sold under the Small Animal Exemption Scheme for use in rabbits, Guinea Pigs and ornamental birds. Products licensed under the Small Animal Exemption Scheme are not licensed for use in food-producing animals such as chickens and it is for that reason that there is no information relating to the withdrawal period for eggs or meat following use of Ivermectin Drops on poultry.

Where there is a licensed alternative, vets will prescribe the licensed product. To treat worms – Flubenvet is the (only) licensed in-feed product.

In the absence of licensed alternatives, veterinarians do sometimes prescribe this product for poultry under their own strict clinical judgement to treat lice in poultry.

It is however only a veterinarian who can advise on such use and it would breach of the veterinary medicines regulations and NOAH code of practice by supporting, or encouraging the use of this product on a non-target species.

Eggs and eating the birds must cease for at least three (3) weeks after last application.

 

[leslielbk]

Even though you've gotten so many answers I want to chime in with what worked perfectly for me. I didn't want to use the typical chemicals on my chickens and found this by accident. People might laugh but I'm telling you it works. I sprayed the entire coop after cleaning it, including roosts and nesting boxes. I do buy food grade DE from Amazon - super cheap and much safer for your girls. I use a kitchen sifter and cover the entire coop and put extra in the nesting boxes and anywhere they take a dust bath.
That's all it took. I didn't have to spray the girls, their dust bathing took care of any mites that were on them, especially with the extra DE.
When I clean out the coop, I spray it down with this spray, sift DE on top of that, then the bedding. I buy the spray by the gallon and keep it in a garden sprayer to make it easier on my hands. It smells great, by the way. About every three months I get the old Shop-Vac out there and do all the nooks and crannies including window screening. Gets all the spiders too.
I'm pretty sure everyone here will think I'm nuts and this couldn't possibly work. I'm here to tell you it works or I wouldn't be doing it.
https://www.pyranhainc.com/products/for-horses/zero-bitenatural-insect-spray/