Tiny White Bugs on butt — HELP!

[NewYorkMama]

My Buff Orpington (6yrs) has a pretty bare butt. I’ve seen her coopmate snatch and eat her butt feathers and she doesn’t seem to mind so I’ve let it be. But she was laying next to me in the sun today and I saw how really bare her butt is. On closer examination there are tiny tiny white bugs crawling on her. I only see them on her bottom, not on her back or neck. I covered her bare skin where I saw the bugs with diatomaceous earth I figured that couldn’t hurt. **edited to add: on closer inspection both she and her coopmate have white bugs with a tiny brown spot and egg sacs on the base of their feathers. Disgusting! I feel so terrible. Please help! Is insecticide the only thing for this??

I have new babies that will be moving in to the coop in a couple of months so I need to fix this problem now.

She’s not laying any longer but her sister is so I don’t want to use anything toxic to humans if I don’t have to.

I’ve tried searching online and have had mixed results/advice. You ladies are always so wise. Please tell me:

1) the best way to treat my girls to eliminate this bug. Is it lice?

2) the best way to clean the coop. I’ve never really done more than sweep out the litter and wipe down perches with vinegar water every once in a while.

Thank you all for your help!

 

[nuthatched]

Diotomaeceous Earth is ineffective for pests and is a respiratory irritant for you and your birds, please do not use it.
It sounds like lice, you will need to get some permethrine based dust or spray to treat your birds. Completely clean out your coop and treat everything with the spray and replace all the litter and bedding from a fresh source.
If you have feather picking, they may need a higher protein feed, what is their diet?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

**edited to add: on closer inspection both she and her coopmate have white bugs with a tiny brown spot and egg sacs on the base of their feathers. Disgusting! I feel so terrible. Please help! Is insecticide the only thing for this??

Looks like lice nits at the base of the feathers.

You can find Permethrin based poultry dust and spray at stores like TSC.
I prefer to Dust the birds and spray housing.

Put the dust in a sock, then use it like a powder puff on the hens. Tap the sock onto the feathers and work the dust down through the feathers to the skin.
For housing, spray roosting bars, nooks/crannies, nesting boxes, etc. It's best to try to remove bedding if possible.

Repeat treatment of housing and birds in 5-7 day intervals to break the cycle.

 

[NewYorkMama]

Is there no other more natural way to treat this besides permetherin? I keep an organic house and garden and am very uncomfortable with introducing something like that. There are warnings all over it the bags/bottles and TSC won’t even ship it to a whole list of states. Not something I want around my food!

 

[nuthatched]

Is there no other more natural way to treat this besides permetherin? I keep an organic house and garden and am very uncomfortable with introducing something like that. There are warnings all over it the bags/bottles and TSC won’t even ship it to a whole list of states. Not something I want around my food!

Nothing that will stop this problem for good, unfortunately.

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

Is there no other more natural way to treat this besides permetherin? I keep an organic house and garden and am very uncomfortable with introducing something like that. There are warnings all over it the bags/bottles and TSC won’t even ship it to a whole list of states. Not something I want around my food!

There is a saying, garlic, oregano, and ACV make a great marinade for chicken, but that's about it.

Creepy crawlies carry disease and are impacting your chicken's health and quality of life. It's not forever. Just for a season till you know they are clean and the coop is cleared to bring chicks in.

 

[nuthatched]

There is a saying, garlic, oregano, and ACV make a great marinade for chicken, but that's about it.

Creepy crawlies carry disease and are impacting your chicken's health and quality of life. It's not forever. Just for a season till you know they are clean and the coop is cleared to bring chicks in.

Never heard about the oregano. I'll have to look into that.

 

[NewYorkMama]

There is a saying, garlic, oregano, and ACV make a great marinade for chicken, but that's about it.

Creepy crawlies carry disease and are impacting your chicken's health and quality of life. It's not forever. Just for a season till you know they are clean and the coop is cleared to bring chicks in.

Thank you. Ugh I know I feel so badly for the girls and I don’t want to bring the babies into a coop with mites or whatever! But… if this is a dust that I have to keep applying to the girls and the coop over & over how will I ever feel comfortable enough knowing that the remnants of the pesticide is out of my coop & run? And I have kids and other animals… like do you fully change your clothes after applying this or going into the coop & run? Sorry I’m being a ninny about this but pesticides really freak me out.

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

Thank you. Ugh I know I feel so badly for the girls and I don’t want to bring the babies into a coop with mites or whatever! But… if this is a dust that I have to keep applying to the girls and the coop over & over how will I ever feel comfortable enough knowing that the remnants of the pesticide is out of my coop & run? And I have kids and other animals… like do you fully change your clothes after applying this or going into the coop & run? Sorry I’m being a ninny about this but pesticides really freak me out.

You could get like a jumpsuit thing from the hardware store people wear for spray painting I guess? If it makes you feel any better.

Maybe read up more about lice and how gross they are until you are more skeeved out by the vile grossness of these teeny tiny parasites, enough to be grateful that we have a product that can hopefully help us rest easier knowing we are doing our best to rid our sweet girls of those disgusting little skeeve balls! Ughhh <<shudder>>

I suppose there are plenty of hippies who have lice, too, and don't seem to mind. But I personally wouldn't want my children handling an infested bird, tbh, and I would just discourage them from picking up the birds until you have run the course of treatment.

 

[nuthatched]

Thank you. Ugh I know I feel so badly for the girls and I don’t want to bring the babies into a coop with mites or whatever! But… if this is a dust that I have to keep applying to the girls and the coop over & over how will I ever feel comfortable enough knowing that the remnants of the pesticide is out of my coop & run? And I have kids and other animals… like do you fully change your clothes after applying this or going into the coop & run? Sorry I’m being a ninny about this but pesticides really freak me out.

Fully clean out your coop, take out the bedding and nest material. Apply the product evenly, get into the crevices and corners. Bring in all new litter and nesting material.
Your kids will be fine, though you might want to keep your cats out of the coop as they have a hightened sensitivity to permethrine.
If it helps, according to regulations regarding the keeping of organic livestock, it's perfectly acceptable to use a non organic product such a necessary medical treatment and not lose organic status, in fact, if an organic farm doesn't, they can be fined for neglect.