Chicken lice

Discussion in 'Breeding, Raising, Feeding and Caring for Animals' started by sun burn, Oct 16, 2010.

  1. sun burn

    sun burn Junior Member

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    My hen is having a dust bath every day and the little ones have started too. What can I do deal with the lice - assuming its lice. And what about the chicken pen?
     
  2. ebunny

    ebunny Junior Member

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    We put lime in with the bedding and that seems to work for the most part. Having said that, we just had a bad patch and so I treated them with a powder as a once off and that seems to have done the trick (we still have bites on us though - can we roll in lime perhaps??)
     
  3. sun burn

    sun burn Junior Member

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    ebunny, you should have a shower every day :)

    But thanks for the lime tip. I will do that. I guess dad will know how much i should put in their pen.

    The thing is, these chickens don't like to be picked up so catching them will be tricky, even inside the cage. Any tips about applying it?
     
  4. matto

    matto Junior Member

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    From https://www.veryediblegardens.com/iveg/chooks

    Maintaining Chook Health - Naturally
    Think about planting herbs and flowers next to your chicken run that the chickens can selectively eat to keep you themself healthy. Some recommended plants are:

    Comfrey – Wonderful herb for your organic garden. Perennial, large green leaves, grows in sun or partial shade, plant from a root cutting. Chop up and feed to chooks regularly. It is also a compost activator (see VEG compost worksheet). Comfrey has a vigorous root system, so grow it away from your veggie patch.

    Nasturtium – Great for your chooks general health and it repels insect pests.

    Nettles – Helps increase egg production and is fattening for your chickens – a great winter food. Nettle is also a compost activator.

    Rue – Good chook medicine and insect repellent. Dry and scatter through chook house to repel pests. Wear gloves when handling this herb as it can cause some skin irritation.

    Southernwood and Wormwood – Insect repellents and medicinal. Grow wormwood away from other plants as its roots inhibit growth. Good to dry and scatter through chook house.

    Tansy – Attractive fern-like leaves with yellow flowers. Tansy is a vigorous grower that repels pest insects. Dry and scatter leaves through chookhouse. Tansy is also a compost activator.

    Rosemary – Insect repellent. Chop and scatter in chookhouse.

    Worming your chooks
    Regular garlic treatment is the most popular natural method.

    Place 1-2 cloves (per bird) of crushed garlic into your chooks drinking water, for several days in a row.

    Other methods – add a little apple cider vinegar to the drinking water or any of the following - nasturtium seeds, grated carrot, wormwood tips, mustard or pumpkin seeds. If your chicken has worms and needs urgent attention please visit a pet supplies centre to buy worming liquid.

    I was reading here the other day that chooks just love rolling around in coffee grounds...
     
  5. ebunny

    ebunny Junior Member

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    I shake about half a cup into a bucket of sugar cane mulch and then replace the old mulch in the nesting area. I don't put anything on the chickens themselves. When I did the one off treatment with the poweder though, I just sprinkled a bit on their backs as they walked past. They didn't seem phased.

    And thanks for the advice, I'll try showering EVERY day (grin)
     
  6. mischief

    mischief Senior Member

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    SHouldnt the dust baths they have deal with any flea/ lice infestations?
    Thanks for the link, it looks really interesting so I've bookmarked it to look into later on.
     
  7. ebunny

    ebunny Junior Member

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    Sun Burn

    I also have many of those plants that Matto mentioned around the roost and I'm not sure if they alone will do the trick. I suspect its a combo deal, and that on top of their dust baths.
     
  8. sun burn

    sun burn Junior Member

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    How do i know if my chickens need worming?

    About all the herbs, they won't grow here except perhaps in winter. I live in teh tropics. Its too wet for them or too hot. I will get some comfrey though.

    When i sprinkled a bit of lime on her old nest, i then went and put some on the dirt where she does her dust bath. I will be interested to see if she has a bath tomorrow. I moved her nest to a new spot and put lime on the old straw.

    Mischief, I think teh dust bath is an attempt to deal with the infestation but i don't think its working well enough. Its like one might use talcom powder instead of washing one's hair. It doesn't really do the job but may be the best you can do under the circumstances.
     
  9. dannyboy

    dannyboy Junior Member

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    sun burn are you saying they have lice or are you assuming they have lice because they are dust bathing?
     
  10. sun burn

    sun burn Junior Member

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    I've seen the hen pickign things of her legs quite often and she is bathing a lot. How often should they bath if they haven't got lice. Also i've got something crawling on me. I don't know what it is. Its small and so far hasn't bitten me but its in my hair. I thought it might be baby spiders but they've hung around and when i went into the chook pen today i again felt these thigns crawling on my legs. I've seen them but they are too tiny to see properly. I squash them when i can see them. The little ones have also started dust bathing.
     
  11. dannyboy

    dannyboy Junior Member

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    sorry sunburn i'm only fairly new to having chooks but I found Alana Moore's book 'Backyard Poultry Naturally' full of helpful information, including lice infestation, which I borrowed from the library. My chooks dustbath daily around lunchtime.
     
  12. purplepear

    purplepear Junior Member

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  13. pippimac

    pippimac Junior Member

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    Chooks love dust baths, lice or not. Dust bathing helps control lice, but tossing a bit of FOOD GRADE diatomaceous earth in the dust bath area and in the nesting boxes will really do a number on them.
    Chook lice don't bite people, but it can feel pretty gross if you discover them wandering all over you...
    Unless you take a really close look a the chook's poo, you probably won't know if they have worms. I'd just presume they do, and about monthly, add a good dose of garlc to their mash and cider vinegar to their water. Don't do it too often though: the vinegar knocks out the good gut flora too.
    I dunno about ducks, but I imagine the same routine applies. Any duck people with parasite advice?
     
  14. ebunny

    ebunny Junior Member

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    Are you sure bird lice don't bite people because my husband and I have bites that are itchy and can be traced back to the chicken coop....
     
  15. pippimac

    pippimac Junior Member

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    purplepear posted first...I'll say it again, try DE.
    ebunny, NZ chook mites don't bite, but you may have something different in Oz. Also, some people have skin reactions to things without being bitten. I have seen flea infestations in chook houses too.
     
  16. sun burn

    sun burn Junior Member

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    Lots to respond to.

    Ebunny, I think the chook lice don't bite people because lately i've been crawling with something and its not bitten me yet. Its awful when they are in your hair, especially at bedtime. Where did you hear about using lime? Is this a known remedy. Obviously you haven't noticed any negative effects. It seems like a good solution, no?

    Others. Is there something wrong with using lime? I haven't got diametacious earth, I'd have to go out and buy some.

    Danny, you've left things a bit open. What does she say about treating them for lice? I read a poulty book that talked about dust baths too but no one has said it was normal/good for them to bathe everyday. If the dust doesn't actually get rid of the lice, I would think its not as satisfactory as getting rid of them. I imagine the unpleasant feeling on me is similar to what it would be on a chicken otherwise they wouldn't bother trying to pick them off and bathing in dust.

    Yes I reckon ebunny's bites might be fleas since Sydney is bad for fleas.
     
  17. pippimac

    pippimac Junior Member

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    Give lime a go, it works along similar lines to DE, just not as hardcore. Clean out the shed first, sweep the walls down, replace the nesting box material and floor litter, then chuck lime everywhere.
    Just thought though, might lime 'set' a dustbath if it got wet? I wouldn't want to ruin the chooks bathing spots...
     
  18. dannyboy

    dannyboy Junior Member

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    Sorry sunburn, it was simply a book recommendation and as it is now back at the library i can't answer you question. PP is knowledgeable guy though and all the answers listed so far sound like what i've previously read so... good luck!
     
  19. adrians

    adrians Junior Member

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    purple, what grade of diatomatious earth should we use (did I miss it?)
     
  20. stez

    stez Junior Member

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    In her 'Chook Book', Jackie French recommends that some derris dust be added once a week to the spot where they dust-bathe. She also says that they can be dusted with a mixture of one part derris powder to one part talcum powder - hold the chook upside down and shake the powder well into the feathers.

    To answer the question about chooks with worms - Ms French indicates that afflicted chooks will have frothy or blood-stained droppings and have dirty bums.
     

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