What to do about mites/lice in chickens

[Carter Martin]

Hi all,
Last night when I was doing chicken chores. I saw a little white-looking something on one of my roosters. I am guessing it was either a mite or a louse. Can anyone advise me on what this is and what to do about it?
Thanks
Carter

 

[DobieLover]

Hi all,
Last night when I was doing chicken chores. I saw a little white-looking something on one of my roosters. I am guessing it was either a mite or a louse. Can anyone advise me on what this is and what to do about it?
Thanks
Carter

It sounds like it could be a louse you saw.
I would suggest you buy some 10% permethrin and dilute it per the label to treat first the coop then the birds.
You will need to completely clean out their coop. I would also vacuum the crevices with a shop vac then spray all surfaces of the coop with the diluted permethrin (including the tub of the shopvac). Pay particular attention to all areas that form a crevice and don't forget the nest boxes. Mixing up the solution in a garden pressure sprayer is easiest. Allow the coop to dry naturally then add fresh bedding.
Then use the diluted spray to spray the birds down to the skin in the following locations: under the vent in the fluff, under each wing, at the base of the neck and tail and on the chest.
The easiest time to treat the birds is to grab them off the roost at night and wear a headlamp so both of your hands are free to handle the bird and the spray bottle of solution.
The entire coop/bird treatment will have to be repeated again in 7 to 10 days to kill adults that hatch from any eggs that are on the birds/in the coop.

 

[Carter Martin]

It sounds like it could be a louse you saw.
I would suggest you buy some 10% permethrin and dilute it per the label to treat first the coop then the birds.
You will need to completely clean out their coop. I would also vacuum the crevices with a shop vac then spray all surfaces of the coop with the diluted permethrin (including the tub of the shopvac). Pay particular attention to all areas that form a crevice and don't forget the nest boxes. Mixing up the solution in a garden pressure sprayer is easiest. Allow the coop to dry naturally then add fresh bedding.
Then use the diluted spray to spray the birds down to the skin in the following locations: under the vent in the fluff, under each wing, at the base of the neck and tail and on the chest.
The easiest time to treat the birds is to grab them off the roost at night and wear a headlamp so both of your hands are free to handle the bird and the spray bottle of solution.
The entire coop/bird treatment will have to be repeated again in 7 to 10 days to kill adults that hatch from any eggs that are on the birds/in the coop.

Oh. Help. I don't know if it is possible for me to do all these things. I am not sure if I can even get permethrin over here in Ireland. Also, I have total of about 56 birds including chicks and roosters. So it would be a massive job and probably a good bit expensive as well.

 

[Carter Martin]

I have a concrete pad divided up into 3 pens that would have to be treated, according to you. The pad is about 30 feet long by 5 feet wide. So I have 3 pens that are each about 9 to 10 ft. by about 4-1/2 to 5 ft.

 

[DobieLover]

I have a concrete pad divided up into 3 pens that would have to be treated, according to you. The pad is about 30 feet long by 5 feet wide. So I have 3 pens that are each about 9 to 10 ft. by about 4-1/2 to 5 ft.

The concrete wouldn't need to be treated. Just wood.

 

[DobieLover]

Oh. Help. I don't know if it is possible for me to do all these things. I am not sure if I can even get permethrin over here in Ireland. Also, I have total of about 56 birds including chicks and roosters. So it would be a massive job and probably a good bit expensive as well.

What do you have available to purchase?
Ivermectin would also work but you really need to treat the building if it is infested. You should probably go out after dark with a flash light and really investigate and see what it is you are dealing with.
Do the birds free range and have a lot of dust bathing options?

 

[Carter Martin]

So the building is made with a lot of tin, though some of the tin has felt on it. But it has a wooden frame with a few wooden walls. The goal is to let the chickens free range as much as possible. Although probably they are not let out, at least one day out of every week. And depending on the situation they are not let out for a while. Like a couple of weeks.
When they are let out to free range they are literally, free ranging, they are not restricted at all except for if I herd them in one direction or chase them away from something. But that is only when they are let out of their pens. When out, they have at least one good spot to dust bath in the near vicinity, that they have been using.
Now not all my chickens are let out a lot. Mostly the mature hens and roosters are let out. But usually the growers and immature chickens are kept in most of the time.

 

[Folly's place]

Lice or mites will become so numerous that some chickens will be killed because of blood loss. It's not a minor problem! Find out what insecticides you can buy for your poultry, and treat them all.
We do it at night, while they are roosting, with a small flashlight so there's very little light. A head lamp works great for this.
Here we can get permethrin concentrate, and add water in the sprayer. We can also get spinosad, which is way more expensive. both are approved for use on poultry in the USA.
Find something that's available for you.
Mary