Diatom powder and lice

[Sue]

Having always dusted my birds regularly with Diatom, used it in the nest boxes and dust bath, I was horrified to pick up one of my hens today and find her crawling with what I assume are lice (not 100% sure though)! They are very tiny, about the size of the tip of a pen and beige in colour. One bird had an awful lot of them, but couldn't find many on the other birds. I dusted them all very thoroughly today, but is this going to be enough? It was too late to clean out the houses today as they were just about to go to bed, but will do that tomorrow. Should I be doing anything else or should I dust them again soon and if so, how soon? They haven't been showing any signs of having anything on them by scratching themselves, extra grooming or anything.

 

[karminski]

i have used diatom and my girls still got lice so i use barriers louse powder for horses but i dont stick to the same stuff i swap products everytime i treat them , my girls at the mo are grooming themselves stupid but they have no lice but are moulting horriably but each time i see them really pruning themselves i get really paranoid :lol:

 

[kegs]

I use Johnsons Bird Anti mite spray extra which is quite cheap and I got it from Am*zon.

 

[chrismahon]

Sounds lice feather lice Sue. We use the Louse powder in the green and white cardboard tube and dust all round the rear end and back. Important they don't get dust in their eyes so watch the wind direction. Its really a discouragement and doen't kill them. For worst cases a squirt of Pyrethum based Johnsons Cat Flea Spray. All the lice die as they pass through the sprayed areas and we never give more than 3 squirts. Usually never needs retreatment but we follow up a week later with aforementioned powder just in case. I'd dust all the others as they spread easily -they jump off when the bird is dusted onto another.

 

[Sue]

I've dusted them all, but only with Diatom. I'll have to get some louse powder next week and do them again. Trouble is I don't like using the powder on them as three of them have been wheezing and sneezing for the last couple of weeks. Any dust is just going to make them worse.

Do the lice live in the bedding or just on the birds? I did a thorough clean out this morning, but didn't put any Diatom in the house because I'm trying to keep it as dust free as possible because of the wheezing.

I'm leaving the house door open at night to allow more ventilation.

 

[foxy]

I think you are right Sue in your reluctance to use powder, especially with birds which are wheezing at the moment. The lice use the chicken as a host, so although there maybe some lurking in the bedding you are right to focus your efforts on your birds at the moment.

The product Kegs mentioned is Johnsons Anti Mite spray for birds, I have used this and found it very effective. Diatom is good, it does take a while to work, is completely natural, however it is a "dust." Other products such as Barrier Louse Powder I am afraid I have little faith in, I cannot find information regarding mode of action, only that it is a repellent.

 

[Sue]

I have put Diatom on all the birds as it is all I had and I had to do something quickly. I washed down the house today and the birds don't seem to be sneezing or wheezing any more than they had been. Lucky they had started to improve as they had the Tylan last week. I don't want to dust them again though, so maybe I need to get some of the Johnsons spray and use that in a couple of weeks. Do you know what chemicals are in it?

 

[chrismahon]

That's the discouragement I was trying to describe Sue -Barrier Louse Powder. Johnsons spray is Pyrethum as I've mentioned. Have to avoid open wounds with it though.

 

[AlexArt]

Louse powder is totally useless - it is as others have said a deterrent only, to kill them I use frontline spot-on for cats/dogs - 6 drops on the back of the neck for a larger hen, 3 for a bantam - it's not liscensed for use in chooks but an awful lot of folk use it even on canaries. I think you can get a spot on for birds but it's not cheap, you can also use the frontline spray - one squirt under each wing, one round it's bum and one on the back of the neck area - lift up the feathers though to make sure it reaches the skin - do the spray in the morning so they dry off, and the spot on at night so they don't scratch it off.
I've used either on my chooks for years and with no problems - it's a pretty safe product to use too, I've just done my broody chooks and day old chicks with the spot on after I noticed one had couple of lice on her back, cleaning out their bedding and giving the hen house a spray every so often is a good idea - I use Deosect for that but only because I have a huge tin left from the gg's and as it's carsinogenic I decided not to use it on living things again!!! - it does the job though but the chooks need to be kept out of their house for a few days to let it dry and ge rid of any fumes! - you can buy sprays though to do your chook house which will kill red mite too.

 

[Sue]

I would use the spot-on, but it's a 7 day egg withdrawal period.

 

[BabyBantam]

Sue, my 'fix for all' is Ivermectin (as said before I'm sure ) You will need to clear out the nest boxes and clean really well, as when mine got lice, there where thousands hidden in the straw.

 

[Sue]

I use wood shavings so I suppose they won't like that as much as straw! Ivermectin is 7 days egg withdrawal I believe. Is the spray safe to use on potentially sick birds? What if the hens groom themselves and ingest it? Do I have to stop using the eggs?

 

[BabyBantam]

Sue,
It's not a spray, the bottle has a dropper on so (like the dog), I put it high on the back of their necks so they can't get to it. My chooks aren't laying at the mo (sporadic at the best of times) so don't think about the egg withdrawal. Mine are also sneezing, but it doesn't made them worse?