small white bugs on chicken-what are they?

[Lyranonamous]

Hi Everyone

I posted a few days ago about our hen that has egg yolk peritonitis. She's on antibiotics and pain killers and doing very well.
Last week when we gave her a bath a few tiny white/flesh colored bugs crawled off of her and onto us. They were tiny, barely visible and round. We are getting ready to bathe all of the chickens and wash down the coop but I have no idea what this bug could be. They don't match the description of Northern Fowl mites, Red Mites, or Scaly leg mites-and I have not noticed any birds that seem to be suffering from bugs.
Anyone have an idea what they could be? Could these be lice? IF so, what would we wash the coop and hens with?

 

[Cyprus]

Almost certainly these are lice. Use liquid permethrin to treat the coop and hens.
8 oz per gal fir the coop.
1.5 oz per gal for the birds.

 

[Lyranonamous]

Thanks very much for your quick reply. Do we need to stop eating the eggs after treating birds and coop?
Are there any natural remedies we can keep on hand that have been found effective?

 

[rebrascora]

Your girl with EYP is likely not looking after herself and dust bathing and preening as much as a healthy hen would, so the lice are able to take advantage of that situation and multiply. Permethrin is the best solution. I do not believe there is a egg withdrawal period for Permethrin and it is formulated for use on poultry. It is something that you will need from time to time over the years to treat for lice and mites so always a good idea to keep some on hand. You can buy it as a concentrate and dilute as necessary or buy it ready to spray. Concentrate is the cheapest option. You will need to reapply after a week to get newly hatching eggs.

 

[Eggcessive]

No egg withdrawal with permethrin. You can also use the permethrin dust on chickens, especially during cold weather. But the liquid concentrate is the best buy, since it makes gallons mixed with water. Find it at TSC and feed stores. Around 1/2 ounce per chicken is good to use. Lice will need a repeated treatment in 10 days, and maybe once more, to get the newly hatched lice before they lay eggs. Here is a good article with pictures:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification/

 

[Lyranonamous]

has anyone tried this for parasites?
Elector Psp Premise Spray 8 oz

 

[Lyranonamous]

No egg withdrawal with permethrin. You can also use the permethrin dust on chickens, especially during cold weather. But the liquid concentrate is the best buy, since it makes gallons mixed with water. Find it at TSC and feed stores. Around 1/2 ounce per chicken is good to use. Lice will need a repeated treatment in 10 days, and maybe once more, to get the newly hatched lice before they lay eggs. Here is a good article with pictures:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification/

Thanks! I just read that article and her advice. Thanks for letting me know I need to repeat every 10 days. Does that mean take everything out of the coop again and respray? Or only retreat the chickens ?

 

[Lyranonamous]

Your girl with EYP is likely not looking after herself and dust bathing and preening as much as a healthy hen would, so the lice are able to take advantage of that situation and multiply. Permethrin is the best solution. I do not believe there is a egg withdrawal period for Permethrin and it is formulated for use on poultry. It is something that you will need from time to time over the years to treat for lice and mites so always a good idea to keep some on hand. You can buy it as a concentrate and dilute as necessary or buy it ready to spray. Concentrate is the cheapest option. You will need to reapply after a week to get newly hatching eggs.

Thanks for your responese-I think you are correct about not dusting herself. She was very lethargic-but I imagine by now the others have the lice too-so everyone will get a bath. Not looking forward to this but it needs to be done. We have borrowed a pressure washer and if I can get low enough pressure I can spray the inside of the coop from ceiling to floor. I have to see how the thing works, but that's my plan. What ave others used? Would it be possible to use one of those soap bottles with nozzle that connects directly to hose (I believe they are used for window washing)? Other ideas? The coop is about 10 by 10 by 8 so it would be a long process to hand wash it.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

How is your coop made? Will it dry out properly if you pressure wash the inside?

My personal opinion it would be better to clean out the coop, remove as much dust as you can (I usually shop vac mine or blow it out with air compressor hose), then treat the coop with either Permethrin or you mentioned the Elector PSP.
I suppose a lot depends on your location, where I live we are humid enough, so adding water to the inside of my coop would end of with mold/mildew - that in itself will cause problems.

 

[rebrascora]

I would not bath the chickens in water if that is what you are intending. Either dust them with louse powder or spray them with permethrin spray. To be honest, your other chickens probably are already keeping the lice at bay by dustbathing themselves. That is the natural way, provising they have access to dry loose soil to dust bath in? You can add a little wood ash to their dust bathing area to improve it's performance but most healthy chickens can keep lice to a minimum. My personal view with parasites on outdoor animals is that you should aim to keep populations low but total eradication is probably not practical. Monitor, provide dustbathing facilities and treat if things get bad or you have a sick bird like this that can't keep herself right. It would be easier to just check over the other birds for lice than to bath them all or even dust them.