Updated post, hens have lice, not mites, Please help on how to treat/handle super flighty hens by my

amama · Apr 27, 2016

I posted yesterday about our hens that have lice, and I just finished trying to treat them, and it was a disaster.

It probably seems like a silly question to seasoned chicken owners, but this is all new for me, and I'm still getting used to picking them up/handling them myself as we've never had chicks.

They weren't handled by the person that raised them from chicks so they are so flighty and flap like crazy if you get anywhere near, and run fast It's a super windy day here, not good for DE, and it's also a little chilly, so my melted coconut oil spray hardened before I got to the last of them. I put the wire top of a guinea pig cage in their pen and got them in there one at a time, but they ran and hid under the coop (where it's really hard for me to get to them) or in the coop, which I also can't get to them because I foolishly told my hubby to make it so I wouldn't ever have to go in there. They also squeezed through the door of their run which I had forgotten to fasten completely so some ran out to free range before getting treated.

Do most of you do things like this alone or do you wait until you have help? I really need them to sit still(but not squat) and probably on their back so I can actually get to/see the vent area where the lice are. I couldn't get the coconut oil spray past all their feathers/poo so I'm pretty sure it did no good.

Then they all had their usual fight over the nest boxes, I saw 5 in one plastic tub, pretty ridiculous. (there are 3 nesting boxes but they constantly line up in front of one, ignoring the empty ones and squash in on top of the others and the preferred box changes each day). So the coconut oil I did spray on their feathers was everywhere on other chickens, disgusting.

Is there a better way to handle/trap/position them so I can treat them? I know it really needs done to get the lice under control.

Thank you

Eggcessive · Apr 27, 2016

It really helps if you have a coop that you can enter at night, and grab each chicken off the roost when they are asleep. I wear a cheap headlamp that has a red light setting. The chickens don't get upset with the red light, and I have everything ready to go on a table or box. I grab one by both upper legs and quickly put it under arm, using the other arm to dust or spray, or to worm. Then within a minute, I put them back on the roost, and grab the next one. My roost is one long level the length of the coop. I have dusted 70 chickens in one evening. For lice, permethrin dust or 10% spray or dip, or Sevin dust works on lice well. Lice hatch every 10 days, so it helps to dust every 7-10 days, and don't forget to treat the coop and change the bedding. Hope this helps.

chickencrazy21 · Apr 28, 2016

I have the same issue only 15 of my 40 something roost in a tree. Had to have a friend cut it. They have leg mites and lice. Ive delt with the lice before. I use frontline. Just a couple drops on the skin and bam no more lice. Idj if your doing the all natural or what. But depending on severity frontlines pretty easy. Only some of mine like to be helx. So i go out at night when they pretty much dont muss or fuss. I usually do about one drop on a bantam. 2 drops on normal. And for the big fluffy fat ones like orpengtons i do 3 or 4. As for eggs you can still use them think of it this way. You put frontline on your dogs. Frontlines spread threw oil glands (domt thin birds have oil glands but again ive used frontline before) anyways the frontline is basically all over your dog in a short amount of time. We too have oil glands. Then we pet our dogs. We injest more than the few drops that would be in the eggs. Ig weary dont use the eggs for a couple days. Use a medical needle suringe. Put the need in the frontline to withdrawl liquid. Pull off needle and use suringe to put drops. Dont panick if you do a drop or two too mich. Just dont use a hole packet on one chicken. I prefer the dog one vs cat and go for the big size dog more frontline. Good luck

amama · Apr 28, 2016

Thanks for the tips. I finally got them all at least sprayed with coconut oil yesterday. I herded them into the chicken tractor, then let them out one at a time and used a towel quickly to wrap them up and lay them on their backs/cover their feet before they ran off.

Stores last night didn't have permethrin dust so I'll get that today hopefully.

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Updated post, hens have lice, not mites, Please help on how to treat/handle super flighty hens by my

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