o.k. I've read through this whole thread hoping to find someone bringing up lice/mites as predators/pests since this is the "Predators and Pests" topic. While I've been concerned about racoons and rodents, etc., I never gave insects a thought or heard of anyone with a problem. I guess people don't talk about that sort of thing much, but now a chicken with lice is so very nasty and gross. I was cleaning the coop and saw some blood droplets from the roost in the morning and freaked out! My daughter helped as we inspected each chicken to see who was hurt. Imagine my surprise when I saw the vent of the poor infested hen. It looked like this:
How do I protect my babies from these predators/pests? It makes my skiin crawl!!! I dusted them all with Sevin because I freaked out and called a friend. Ruined all my $$ spent on organic feed!!! Thought it was only her (checked didn't see them on others) but dusted them all anyway; only to discover a few days later they all now had visible signs. So after 6 hours of on-line research I used wood ash from the fireplace and hand dusted them from neck to legs after first washing off their feet, drying and applying coconut oil to feet and legs to keep ash out. Then went out to get a good heavy duty plastic tub and lid for sand and wood ash. Had to put the sand on trays in the oven to dry it out; let it cool mix some together and put into the tractor. I hope this helps... They are in my daughter's hands now for a couple days. I am still worried. Took me 6 hours to set-up, thoroughly dust them down to skin, and clean up. I hope I don't have to do it again when I get home. I keep the tractor very clean. How the H*ll did they get lice?! (and maybe mites?) I'm going to be eating lots of chicken soon if it doesn't clear up! Any suggestions. I love them dearly, but...
