How to delouse a chicken?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anonymous
  • Start date Start date
A

Anonymous

Guest
Hi there
We are newcomers to chicken keeping and recently have noticed one of our chickens has large clusters of lice egg sacs around its vent area and spotted lice crawling on one of the others. Time for a de-licing methinks - but am not sure the best way to get the powder onto the birds as they aren't yet that tame! Have put some where they regularly dust bath - should I also put in nest box and bedding?
Cheers! :?
 
Hi Laneender

OK you will need to catch and hold them to dust powder in between the feathers... so maybe before you let them out you could catch them in the house?

I can do this on my own by sitting down and firmly gripping legs between my knees. The head goes under an elbow and I sort of have 2 hands free. Push the feathers backwards with your fingers so they stand up and dust powder in between. Work it in, right down to the skin. Lift wings and get it under, then, turn the chicken over still holding the head under your elbow, clamping chicken beween arm and body. You will need to hold the legs until they turn head around a bit and settle.Again, dust underside and be sure to go up to the vent.

Usually you willl need to repeat this a few times.

Some people use Frontline spot on but it isn't licenced for poultry however gives good results. I haven't tried this myself but maybe someone else here can comment....

Putting powder in the dust bath is great because they will do the job for you ;) You can dust nest boxes and bedding too but lice live on the chicken so they do need to be dusted down to kill the lice.

Tim
 
would it be ok to bath the hens in a diluted mixture of disinfectant? as i have difficulty in getting the powder in all the bits, im convinced some mites have resulted in feather loss. althogh they are all laying normally albeit they all have a day off as usuall. i also keep 4 muscovys in the same large house, and notice they often try and preen the hens of their lice/mites, i dont think they go for them and defeather them ? any help appreciated , regards simon.
 
Hi, you need to powder the hens- bathing is not good- especially at this time of year. Also you will need to clean the coop/house and check it for red mite- do a search on the forum for red mite for more information and look here - http://poultrykeeper.com/chickens/health/red-mite.html
If the muscovies are bothering the hens them you should really try and keep them in different houses- they will not be grooming them or eating lice- they will be bullying them and may be pulling the feathers out.
regards, David :)
 
I have a cat with a very nasty flea allergy that I have to keep treated with. Frontline spray------quite a lot of it drifts onto my chickens---does a good job on them! Also highly recommend Johnsons bird spray for lice and fleas----cheap and goes a long way and works!Ros
 
Agree with Ros, Johnsons Mite spray is very effective, you can buy from most pet/agri stores too.

https://www.petstuffonline.co.uk/bird-products/pest-control/johnsons-anti-mite-spray-100ml.html

If you already have a lice problem, this should sort it out quickly. Diatom is great, however will take a few days to be effective. Be wary of barrier powders as they are repellants and not much good with an existing lice problem.
Frontline is very effective, but should be used as a last resort and very sparingly, it is not licensed for chooks.
Once you have deloused your chooks a little diatom in the nestbox, or dustbath should keep them away! ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top