Winter cleaning of coop and treatment of lice

[eggfooyung]

I have 5 laying hens. I just put one down, and she had a lot of lice, which means the others will shortly (or do already but they look really healthy). We have a foot of snow which precludes deep cleaning and power washing the coop. I can bathe the chickens and dust with poultry dust, but what are adequate cleaning steps for the coop given the weather conditions here in Maine?

 

[Aapomp831]

I have read that wood ash kills lice

 

[Folly's place]

Permethrin dust works fine on the birds, and lice do spend most of their time on the birds, unlike some types of mites.
Use the permethrin spray on the coop, it's possible to treat the walls and roosts with it. The permethrin dust helps on/ in the bedding, but doesn't stick to vertical surfaces. Treat again in ten to fourteen days, and if it's possible to clean out the bedding, that would be a good idea too.
It's those cute little songbirds that bring in the lice or mites! Bah! Humbug!
Mary

 

[aart]

Just dust the birds.
Coops should never be power washed, IMO.

 

[eggfooyung]

Permethrin dust works fine on the birds, and lice do spend most of their time on the birds, unlike some types of mites.
Use the permethrin spray on the coop, it's possible to treat the walls and roosts with it. The permethrin dust helps on/ in the bedding, but doesn't stick to vertical surfaces. Treat again in ten to fourteen days, and if it's possible to clean out the bedding, that would be a good idea too.
It's those cute little songbirds that bring in the lice or mites! Bah! Humbug!
Mary

Thank you’

 

[eggfooyung]

Just dust the birds.
Coops should never be power washed, IMO.

Love this answer, makes my life easier

 

[cmom]

Permethrin dust works fine on the birds, and lice do spend most of their time on the birds, unlike some types of mites.
Use the permethrin spray on the coop, it's possible to treat the walls and roosts with it. The permethrin dust helps on/ in the bedding, but doesn't stick to vertical surfaces. Treat again in ten to fourteen days, and if it's possible to clean out the bedding, that would be a good idea too.
It's those cute little songbirds that bring in the lice or mites! Bah! Humbug!
Mary

Great info. I do power wash my coops once a years on good low humidity days when the weather's nice so the coops will dry out good. Otherwise I spray the coops thoroughly with permethrin. I also put the poultry dust in the nest boxes. If I discover any pest I treat weekly for 3 or 4 weeks. Permethrin and most insecticides don't kill the pests eggs so repeated treatments are necessary. The bonus is there is no egg withdrawal period. Good luck...

 

[cmom]

You can also dust the birds good.