URGENT!! Major Lice infestation

[Chicken-whisper]

One of my hens who if currently fighting a cold has become completely COVERED on lice over night. There's not one part that isnt infested on her. Is there anything I can do to help or should I end her suffering?

 

[chicknmania]

Get some Ivermectin for cattle at the feed store. Put a drop ( I think it's just a drop, but you might want to double check this on here) between her wings, on her back. This should quickly kill the lice/ mites and also take care of some worm problems she may have. My vet has told me you can also inject a small amount of Ivermec in the breast muscle. I have never tried either , but I have read that this is a quick and effective way to get rid of mites/ lice. some people say that Ivermec does not work as well as it used to but in an emergency situation like yours, that's what I'd use.

then, you need to clean her living quarters as best you can or at least treat the quarters of the flock with Insectrin (also available at the feed store) put it in their dust bath and sprinkle it in their living quarters. You can also use sulfur powder, (available on line or at feed stores), and wood ash for mites. You mix some in their dust bath, and they will apply it themselves.

Also, I hope you realize, as you seem to, that this really is an emergency. chickens do not get "colds"...she may have one of several respiratory problems in chickens... but the lice and mites do not help and are usually a sign of end of stage life when they are completely covering her like that. You do need to control them quickly as they are dragging her down and probably contributing to her getting sick to begin with. Also, please post her "cold" symptoms...she needs to be on an antibiotic and that way you can get some advice as to which antibiotic would be best. Probably Oxytet would do for starters, and this is also available in feed stores. But she needs to be isolated from the flock (you can put her in a pen or cage where she can still hear and see them) and you should be monitoring her and making sure she eats well....give her goodies like a little scrambled egg or oatmeal or chopped fruit or yogurt, mixed with her food, to encourage her to eat.

 

[chicknmania]

If the flock doesn't have a dust bath, you can make one using a kiddie pool or anything. Use clean top soil and then add DE, a little playsand, your sulfur powder or insectrin or ashes, etc. You can keep adding stuff over time. don't go crazy with the insectrin, we only use it when we see there's a need. I discovered our flock doesn't really like the playsand in their bath....they seem to have not been using it as much since we added the sand.

 

[Chicken-whisper]

Ive already got her in a rabbit hutch, she can see and hear the flock but there is no contact between them. As for her symptoms she has some nasal mucus and bubbly sounding breathing, like she has phlegm in her lungs. I think it might be pneumonia. She didnt have any lice until after she got sick, shes been sick for about 3 or 4 days. The closest feed store is half an hour away and money is tight at the moment. Are any of the things you suggested pricey?

 

[Chicken-whisper]

The flock has access to dirt all over, they free range and dirt bathe when the please. Ive checked everyone else for lice and I havent seen any

 

[Peep-Chicken]

Ive already got her in a rabbit hutch, she can see and hear the flock but there is no contact between them. As for her symptoms she has some nasal mucus and bubbly sounding breathing, like she has phlegm in her lungs. I think it might be pneumonia. She didnt have any lice until after she got sick, shes been sick for about 3 or 4 days. The closest feed store is half an hour away and money is tight at the moment. Are any of the things you suggested pricey?

when I use ivermectin, I did a few drops, only one for my bantams. It's worked every time, and the bottles last a while, as its a bit expensive.

That sound like a respitpry infection. Symptoms were exactly like mine. You can use duramycin-10 for this. I can get directions soon, not home now.

 

[Peep-Chicken]

chicknmania covered mostly everything though

 

[chicknmania]

If you use Duramycin, use 4 tsp per gallon, not the recommended dose on the bottle. Duramycin is a weak antibiotic and not always very effective, but better than nothing. It is not terribly expensive. Oxytet is better. I mean the stuff isn't cheap, but it does last, and you will need it most likely a few times. It is worth it to save the life of the bird, you may end up needing it for the whole flock also.

Also...just a word to the wise about lice/ mites. We have a free range flock and I never made them a dust bath before as they always made their own dusting holes and were fine.
This year we had a severe problem with parasite infestations...lice, mites, and worms. I heard from our local feed mill guys that parasites are a problem for everyone in our area this year.
We lost several birds because of capillary worms and mites and lice. I know, because we had a necropsy done. It was embarrassing as the vet acted horrified, but like you I never noticed any bugs on our birds, and they seemed healthy...til they weren't. After we lost five birds, including my pet rooster and our oldest roo, and one of my favorite hens as well as two others, I noticed that our
barn was crawling with lice. I got the sulfur powder and made the dust bath, and it worked extremely well. I also used ash, insectrin, DE, and even Sevin dust twice, though I don't like that stuff.
I feel our parasite problem is now under control, and improving all the time, after we made a significant effort to control the pests and have dewormed our flock twice as well as using garlic, oregano oil, and ACV religiously for a while.. Our birds act happy and healthy now and we haven't had any more losses for a while, and I haven't seen any more bugs since our last casualty. You don't necessarily see them until the bird is very ill...but they are probably there. All birds have parasites to some extent...I don't think there are any birds that have none., ever. It's part of nature. But they can be kept at controllable level. We've had poultry for nine years and I am still learning. And we have never had the deaths from parasites before that I know of, althoug recently someone on here said that he thought almost all bird ailments start out based on a parasite problem. And I think he is absolutely right.