Help! I bought a Silkie at a Poultry Show today and she's infested with some type of pest and also

[puglady]

Sounds like you did a good job! Same thing again at 7-10 days. Then recheck 7-10 days and do it as needed. You're off to a really good start!

 

[lilchick]

When I stated you needed to cut or pull off the egg encased feathers I still don't think that it is a horrible idea! I see she has a few on her face. I would also check her over for others. I am not talking about cutting ALL her feathers off or anything like that....

The lice eggs will hatch out and reinfect the bird if you do not remove them.

Sevin dust only works on the lice, not the eggs.

 

[puglady]

When I stated you needed to cut or pull off the egg encased feathers I still don't think that it is a horrible idea! I see she has a few on her face. I would also check her over for others. I am not talking about cutting ALL her feathers off or anything like that....

The lice eggs will hatch out and reinfect the bird if you do not remove them.

Sevin dust only works on the lice, not the eggs.

I was of the same mind when I found them on Sweetness. Yes, I'm sure it stung for a few minutes however it further eliminated the possibility of many many more eggs hatching. Thats also why you dust again in 7-10 days and keep checking.

 

[leadwolf1]

With a couple that would be fine but, it sounds like there are tons of them. I didn't have to pull or cut the feathers on my silkies that ended up with them. I dusted them and reapplied it 10 days later. No more lice. Sorry, but I would never dream of pulling or cutting the feathers to get rid of lice. That's why they make the combs and why you need to reapply the powder.

Of course, it is always up to the OP to decide what advice will work best for her and her flock.

 

[Silkie75]

I wish I counted how many feathers had the eggs when she was wet. It's only around her beard. So these eggs will positively hatch even with the Sevin?? If that is so, I can go buy the comb or I can pull or cut the feathers. Like I said, I really want to do what will get rid of them quickest. I don't care if she looks silly with no feathers for a while. (They grow back right??) I tried to pull them off with my fingernails when I first discovered them and it was near impossible. I'm not sure how a lice comb would work, but I'm willing to try anything. Someone on this thread said coconut oil helped remove them. I could try that tomorrow too if it might help- I have some here. I went out to the garage when I got home and #1 was pretty alert and pecking at her food, while #2 (the infested one) was towards the back of her cage. Doesn't look like she's touched much food. She wasn't very alert but she could've just been resting. I tried to see if either one was interested in a grape I cut up. Neither were. Don't think these guys have had too much love in their life from humans. I have both of them in smaller cages than I originally planned for this quarantine. I had planned on having them together in the garage in a very large great dane crate. Since this has happened and they have to be kept separate, one is in a 10 gallon tank (there is small square wire mesh on the bottom so the poop/pee can fall through- well not the poop as much) and the other is in a small dog crate. I feel so bad that they are not getting to stretch their little legs.

 

[Silkie75]

Sounds like you did a good job! Same thing again at 7-10 days. Then recheck 7-10 days and do it as needed. You're off to a really good start!

Thanks for the encouragement! I hope this all ends up okay!

 

[puglady]

Its really a personal preference kind of thing and as you can see by the thread there's some disagreement. The feathers with the eggs were under my girls chin and in her muffs. It was my first experience with the lice/mites/eggs and at first I thought it was dried yogurt until I realized what they truly were. I chose to pick them with the thinking mentioned previously. That there would be less on her to possibly hatch in 7-10 days. You can certainly try the comb, it sounds like a good idea but I've just never had experience with it. The feathers grew back just fine.

 

[Silkie75]

Its really a personal preference kind of thing and as you can see by the thread there's some disagreement. The feathers with the eggs were under my girls chin and in her muffs. It was my first experience with the lice/mites/eggs and at first I thought it was dried yogurt until I realized what they truly were. I chose to pick them with the thinking mentioned previously. That there would be less on her to possibly hatch in 7-10 days. You can certainly try the comb, it sounds like a good idea but I've just never had experience with it. The feathers grew back just fine.

What did your girl have? Lice, mites, ? What did the eggs look like? Same as mine? I guess tomorrow I will go buy the lice comb. I've never seen one of these combs before but I'm wondering how it will work with feathers since these eggs are at the base where it is much thicker than human hair. But it will be great if it works!! I'm realizing that most importantly I really need to get rid of these eggs. I do not want them hatching. I guess I was thinking the Sevin was going to eat away at the eggs too! Thanks lilchick for letting me know the Sevin will not work on the eggs. It makes sense. If the comb doesn't work, I'm going to search around for some other ways to "dissolve" these things. Too bad it's so close to her skin. I don't want to hurt her by plucking her feathers, as I'm sure you didn't want to hurt yours either puglady. And honestly, I don't know if I actually could do it. I know I would be fine cutting them. But I don't know how close they are to her skin and if it would leave any eggs if the feathers were cut. They are so nasty. When I was trying to pull them off with my fingernails, it was pulling her entire feather. They are on like glue. That's why I'm wondering about the comb. Leadwolf1, does the comb have sharp edges where it cuts through? This poor little Silkie.

 

[Silkie75]

With a couple that would be fine but, it sounds like there are tons of them. I didn't have to pull or cut the feathers on my silkies that ended up with them. I dusted them and reapplied it 10 days later. No more lice. Sorry, but I would never dream of pulling or cutting the feathers to get rid of lice. That's why they make the combs and why you need to reapply the powder.

Of course, it is always up to the OP to decide what advice will work best for her and her flock.

Did yours have the eggs too or just lice? I was just talking to my mom about the lice comb... who unfortunately a lonnnngggggg time ago had to use one on my sister... lol, and she said the lice eggs are like little raindrops and you try to comb them out. With the ones on my Silkie, they are in a group almost and are literally stuck to her feather. Were yours like that? What were they.. mites, lice? I'm going to get the comb tomorrow and definitley give it a try. That would be great if it works and the best solution!! If it doesn't work, I'm going to have to take a different approach. I'm realizing that I really don't want these hatching. It would be hard for me to pluck her feathers out, but I could cut them as it wouldn't hurt. I really just want to get them off her. I'm also wondering about the coconut oil idea. I wish there was some type of acid or something that would dissolve them. But being so close to her skin, I wouldn't dare even if there was something like that out there. Hmmm... Thank you so much for you input along the way. This is certainly not how I thought I would be spending my first days with my new Silkies!

 

[Silkie75]

When I stated you needed to cut or pull off the egg encased feathers I still don't think that it is a horrible idea! I see she has a few on her face. I would also check her over for others. I am not talking about cutting ALL her feathers off or anything like that....

The lice eggs will hatch out and reinfect the bird if you do not remove them.

Sevin dust only works on the lice, not the eggs.

Thanks for letting me know that the Sevin won't work on the eggs. It makes sense. Honestly, I've never even seen Sevin before today. I'd heard of it, but didn't really know what it was! Hope it does it's magic on these nasty things. The eggs... well, I guess that's going to be another battle.