I am so sorry for your loss. I'm glad your little hen is not suffering. I have never heard of lice entering the vent and going anywhere, but I am not a vet. I would wonder if she had air sacculitis, a secondary bacterial infection from bacteria such as E.coli and others, that complicates respiratory diseases. The bacteria involved in air sacculitis, spreads infection and pus throughout all of the air sacs in the body, basically causing widespread infection. Very little can be done for that.
Lice lay eggs that hatch about every 10 days, so usually treating your birds at 10 day intervals at least twice will get the lice and then the newly hatched lice that are too young to multiply. I have not used ivermectin, but you can get permethrin 10% concentrate at your feed store, which will mix many gallons for $10-15. It is safe for chickens, and you can spray 1/2 ounce per bird in the area where the lice are seen, and then repeat in 10 days. You may need to treat again in 10 more days if you still see lice eggs or live lice.
An alternative during cold weather would be permethrin garden dust. The spray is better for treating your coop, roosts, and nest boxes after emptying the old bedding where lice can be. Some use sevin dust, although it is no longer approved for poultry. I have used it without problems, but pernethrin is much safer.
I am so sorry for all of your sad happenings with pets and family, and hope that things get better for you. Treating chickens at night with a head flashlight when they are asleep on the roosts and easier to handle is what I do. Good luck.
Lice lay eggs that hatch about every 10 days, so usually treating your birds at 10 day intervals at least twice will get the lice and then the newly hatched lice that are too young to multiply. I have not used ivermectin, but you can get permethrin 10% concentrate at your feed store, which will mix many gallons for $10-15. It is safe for chickens, and you can spray 1/2 ounce per bird in the area where the lice are seen, and then repeat in 10 days. You may need to treat again in 10 more days if you still see lice eggs or live lice.
An alternative during cold weather would be permethrin garden dust. The spray is better for treating your coop, roosts, and nest boxes after emptying the old bedding where lice can be. Some use sevin dust, although it is no longer approved for poultry. I have used it without problems, but pernethrin is much safer.
I am so sorry for all of your sad happenings with pets and family, and hope that things get better for you. Treating chickens at night with a head flashlight when they are asleep on the roosts and easier to handle is what I do. Good luck.
