Help everyone...... lice!!

[Littlechick]

My son was helping me give Nellie her first jab of Baytril (she isn't eating, isn't laying and I was going to try a broad spectrum antiB as a last chance). But.... my son said. "What's that?" Hmmmmm, it was a louse.... and she had many, many more.... so he may have discovered her problem (why she won't eat, when there is no other sign of a problem). Decided not to give the Baytril now.

EUCH. NEVER had this before. Think its those damned crows that have brought it in. And it isn't just Nellie who has the problem, but she isn't cleaning properly.

Please can anyone tell me what product to use to sort this out. From the web search it looks like Barrier Louse powder doesn't work. I have seen Johnson's anti mite/louse spray recommended with a two day egg withdrawal. also some peeps recommending Frontline spray (not drops which are more concentrated apparently) though not licenced for poultry so how does that work for egg withdrawal?

What do you all think? This comes a few days after finding a massive red mite infestation two of the houses. Not good. Not happy. Help please!! Anyone used coconut oil?

[pottymoo]

you need battles louse powder. sprinkle small amounts under the tail under her vent under the wings and back of the neck within days they are dead. I never use anything else. It's just like us getting nits, mine get them now and again and birds can't get in my run. Lice comes as part of keeping chickens it's nothing you have done . I swear by battle powder and it is safe to use on the bird although the packaging says not to apply to the animal. I won't use anything else moo x

[MEGAN]

Blanche had a bad bout of northern fowl mite this year I could not believe she was crawling in them before I found them. She is a pekin so fluffy bum so I just could not tell. It knocked her for six, I treated with ivermectin and gave her poultry nutri drops to give her a quick pick me up. I did have to treat her again after a week as when the eggs hatched she was crawling in them again. I now dust her with diatom on a regular basis. I have read that frontline is also very good.
Moo Iv never tried battles louse powder I will have to get some in and give it a try if I have a reoccurrence.

[pottymoo]

I call it magic powder it's fantastic. I have been keeping chickens for nearly 2 years now and I have tons left in the tub it's not something you need alot of as it's good stuff and the tiny pinch here and there on the bird kills the lice dead. Audrey my silkie got them regular and it worked a treat when she was siting on eggs and had the chicks I even dusted the chicks when they were about 5 weeks it's gntle enough for that too moo x

[Littlechick]

Hi Moo, are you sure Battle's works? (silly question really as you have first hand experience). It's just that I have read lots on the internet from people for whom it did not work. Megan, where do you get ivermectin from and is there an egg withdrawal on it please?

I gave Nellie a bath in Fairy and salt tonight, then she had a long blow dry. Had to give her CCF by tube as she is so weak now. I wonder if the lice are the cause of her lack of appetite and loss of weight or if it is secondary to her not really getting over what she had before (possibly cancer).

But thanks so much for your experiences and tips. I do feel that things are going a bit wrong with the girls now.

Did you do a deep clean on your hen houses when you treated for lice? I have only just done a major Poultry Shield/power wash clean (last week) because of the red mite.......

Megan what is the difference between northern fowl mite and lice? Nellie has two different looking bugs. One definitely a louse, the other is smaller, like a little black torpedo?

[MEGAN]

Im not sure if you can buy ivermectin without prescription but I got mine from the vet. I have just got a new lot and have some left in the old one so if you want I can send you the remainder of the old pot its still well in date. Just pm me your address.
Everything falls off dead straight on applying it. You do have to reapply after 7 days to get the eggs.

There is a egg withdrawal on it I usually give it a week. It was recommended to me by a vet when I did a course on chicken keeping as it also deals with worms at the same time.

The bugs I saw on Blanche were small and black and there were clusters of what I now know were eggs around the base of her feathers. She also had raised sore patches of skin around her vent and back area.

I didn't clean the whole house out as I had just done mine when I found her and after examining all the girls she was the only one with them. I would be inclined to check the others and then decide if its necessary.

Hope you haven't got Northern Fowl Mite as it takes time and patience to get rid of. On a positive note none of my others got it.

[monkeymummy]

I've used battles a couple of times and it did work well enough, but I have to say when I got my girls Penny had scaly leg and they were all pretty ikky so I used ivermectin and I noticed them dissapear witin 3 days and haven't (yet) come back. Worked well with the red mites too, but I wouldn't use them as my first resort personally as I would prefer to try something gentler first.

I know you can buy cat frontline off the net (from places like Petmeds) but I wouldn't know if the dose is suitable or could be proportioned down for chickens? The ones I had - Xeno350 or something is suitable for guniea pigs and the vet says altho not licensed for chickens it's fine to use it.

This is the stuff, looks like you don't need a prescription? Think it was cheaper at the vets tho!

http://www.petdrugsonline.co.uk/site.aspx?i=pr182735

Good luck whichever route you use.

Sarah

[sandiesbrahmas]

Don't feel bad about having lice in your flock...it seems everybody is affected at some time.

I find it almost impossible to adequately treat the large heavily feathered birds with powders. I use ivermectin (Harka mectin)made by Harkers and licensed for use in racing pigeons, available without prescription on line.I use about 4 drops and don't eat the eggs for 10 days. It is a spot on medication and will eradicate any internal parasites at the same time. Though I am not the world's greatest fan of ivermectin due to it killing everything in its path, the amount used is pretty minute in birds.

Sandie

[pottymoo]

yes it does. The lice mine have are tiny and I check regular the powder is wonderful and after the treatment I check every few days but usually no more is needed. Mr P has had lice several times and the powder has worked each time I have used it moo x

[spodski]

Hi,
I use Battles as well, great stuff! I recenetly took in 2 girls who were crawling with lice. Battles did the job in a couple of days. If they are really badly infested it is best to pluck out the feathers underneath if they have eggs attached to them. They are easy to see, look like sugar crystals attached to base of feather. There are several types of lice and Battles seems to clear them all. I always sprinkle Battles in nest boxes and across perches when I clean the coops out.
Using on the birds is not recommended and I would recommend being careful, especially on small birds. I recommended it to a friend who used it on quail which all died!
Regards,
Lynn