small insects the color of wood chips on my chicks

[rosemerry]

Just got done cleaning the chick box and saw these pale pink-tan colored insects scuttling around on her feathers.
We have them indoors now in a box with softwood bedding.
I've withheld sprinkling diatomaceous earth in there, mostly because it's a temporary situation.

Because I'm new, I can't post a link to the picture of their living quarters on the chicken cam we have.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

they got lice, the bug looks like ( ! ) right, you need to dust them, DE will not work its more a preventive then a cure

 

[Imp]

Welcome to BYC

Here's some info about lice & mites. Need to treat. They can get serious.

http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0018.html

Good luck

Imp

BTW- Chicken lice are not a threat to humans or other pets, other birds maybe.
Just kinda gross

 

[jason_boivin]

Quote:
This is the kind of info that needs to be put out to the world to understand chickens.

 

[msdoolittle]

Yep, sounds like lice. I personally use the pour-on Ivermectin (dosage can be found on this forum by searching), and I have been very pleased with it. :0)

 

[AZBootsie]

 

[rosemerry]

Since I'm new it took me a while to reply to this: thanks for the tips. We've used DE and the problem seems to have subsided.

I just posted another problem.... two of the birds now seem to have a strange pustule between their eyelid and the cornea. One of them developed it today.
It resembles a pimple (that it has a whitish head). I also posted a separate question about it. I'm concerned it's caused by irritation from the DE dust in the air.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Do you have photos? Or a link to the other "question"? My best guess is that it is still the lice (possibly compounded by mites (they often seem to hit at the same time

)

DE does NOT cure a parasite infestation.

 

[rosemerry]

I do have a photo now: how do I attach it?

 

[rosemerry]

Okay here are some pics.