treating lice in baby chicks

[sheila3935]

I just found out my chickens have lice. Tomorrow is treatment day. I have 3 week old babies in with momma. How should I treat them? I have sevin dust and poultry protector. Should I just use the poultry protector on the babies and momma or can I treat with the sevin. I also have 6 and 7 week olds in the coop too. Can I treat them with sevin? I have ducks too do they need to be treated too.

 

[kathyinmo]

Here is an old thread that may be helpful to you...... Good luck!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=2675891#p2675891

Quote:
Actually that product doesn't kill mites and lice - it cleans the area of the eggs, it washes the mites off, but it won't kill them. Mites are very very tricky. It's strictly an enzyme, which will never kill parasites. Please do keep that in mind. It could be a great thing but having had a lot of experience with mites, I'm not sure how effective it would be. They're very careful to say that it washes them off, but it doesn't say that it kills them. Since they're nearly microscopic, I'd be a little worried that it doesn't actually get them all.

The definite no-questions way to treat lice and mites is use permethrin dust on the birds or ivermectin in the older birds (see below about using wazine first), and use permethin liquid (goat lice spray - read the label) on the wood, 3' up from the bedding, and in the eyes and cracks and joints of the wood near nest boxes, on roosts, etc.You can worm the next day and get it all done. Give them all yogurt that day. (Put them out of the coop when you're spraying the wood). The permethrin doesn't penetrate them.

Then in 2-4 weeks, you can use ivermectin (5% cattle pour-on, the blue liquid - I buy generic ivermectin) on your adult birds birds to kill blood-taking parasites. You will want to repeat the wazine treatment for the babies at that time. Wazine is meant to be repeated as it only kills adults. In birds not wormed over six months, I would always recommend wazine first anyway as you don't know the parasite load. Too many parasites (larva and adults) dying at once with ivermectin might be too stressful on them, particulary if they've been battling mites.

You can use ivermectin on them at 4 months old. Use the 5% cattle ivermectin pour-on, the blue liquid. PM me for instructions.

Unfortunately, mites are too dangerous to go with organic methods which will not kill them. I would recommend you use it if it worked. The permethrin dust is a chemical version of a dust that was once made out of flower petals. It's very safe, much different than things like sevin dust. Mites will take birds down very very quickly.

And if you use permethrin, dust them thoroughly. Yes the younger birds can withstand it.

So my suggested game plan:

Day one: Treat the bedding and birds with permethrin dust. Spray the coops with the permethrin liquid, goat lice spray or with the dust made into a "paint" with water. Paint the legs of the birds again with olive oil , possibly with a little tea tree oil in it, just a tiny bit. (Say you make 1/2 cup of oil, use 3 drops of pure tea tree oil). You'll get the leg mites on the 2nd worming.

Day two: Worm with wazine in the water, all birds. Feed them some yogurt.

Seven days later: redust with permethrin to get hatching lice.

Two to four weeks from first treatment.
Worm all adults with ivermectin pour-on. That will take care of the remaining adults, the larva, and leg mites. Retreat the babies with wazine.

When babies are four months: Worm with ivermectin pour-on. Don't re-worm until your twice annual worming.

Thereafter: worm adults and birds "of age" with ivermectin - in the fall and spring is when I do it.

 

[dawg53]

I recommend you use sevin dust on ALL of them. For the chicks, just put a little sevin dust on your fingers and gently rub it in on them...avoid their eyes, nostrils, and mouth. Repeat dusting in 10 days. You'll also have to dust their brooder and repeat in 10 days as well. Same thing with the 6 and 7 week olds, their coop as well...repeat dusting in 10 days. Same thing for the mama hen. You can visually inspect your ducks and if you see lice, treat them in the same manner as the chickens.

 

[Justuschicks]

I have used a poultry dust that you can find at many farm supply stores. I have a friend who used diatomaceous earth for lice and it worked well. You can take liquid seven in a liquid weed pressure sprayer and mix up the solution w/ water and spray down the coop and living area. The dust is so messy. As far as the dusting process, for my goats and chickens I use a panty hose or tights and cut a section off, tie one end tight, fill w/ dust and tie off other end. I find it accurate and less messy. Use it like a powder puff on the chickens. Wear a mask! Take out all old bedding as well and replace with new. Once you treat, treat a week later.

 

[sheila3935]

Thank you for all the replies. Guess my work is cut out for me

. I have 3 coops and the duck house. One coop has 12 in it. The baby coop has 18. My bantam coop has 5 and there are 8 ducks. Thank God I have tomorrow off. Can I spray the coops with a lice spray? I hope I NEVER get these again! Also should I redo the coops in 2 weeks when I redo everyone? Will keeping DE down after I get this under control help? Or should I keep sevin or a poultry dust in the nesting boxes?

 

[Justuschicks]

Everything has to be done again. A big pain I know. I don't think I would keep Sevin in the nesting boxes because it is a chemical and prolonged exposure to it isn't good for you or the chickens. You can use DE for many things. It is good to keep in your chickens food and scratch for keeping those pesky food bugs out of the feed. It works well for drying out chicken poo during the winter so you don't have to change the litter as often. And it is good to put in their food if they have worms. It doesn't kill eggs though, just the adults. If you do everything right, you shouldn't have to deal w/ this again. If you introduce any new birds, make sure you check them for lice. That is the mistake I made. I adopted a rooster and he was infested. I didn't realize this until he was here for 2 weeks. When you dust, do the entire bird but focus on the vent area the most. This is where the lice like to lay their eggs the most. Oh and don't worry, chicken lice isn't human compatible.

 

[naakte]

Please use D E with complete caution.... it is a very very fine powder and a lil wind makes it fly in the air. if it lands in your lungs it will make your lungs have tiny cuts in them. i imagine it could do the same to chickens, but i do not know for sure. GE can safely be taken internally though just again, you have to watch that you do not breath the dust.

Donna in Branson

 

[fowler_chick]

I use tea tree oil mixed in a spray bottle with water

 

[Justuschicks]

Right, as I said before, wear a mask. I have used it for quite some time and (knock on wood) we are all fine here. You will understand when you see it, it is like grey flour. Very fine. Even w/ the Sevin dust you don't want to get too much of that in your (or the chickens) eyes, lungs, mouth and you want to shower right after using it. It is a poison after all.

 

[horsechick]

Hi,
Where do you get the goat lice spray?
Thanks