Jillus Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 (edited) I have just discovered to my horror that one of my girls has red mites crawling all over her underside. I guess if she has then the rest must be similarly affected. This reminds me of days long gone when one of the boys came home from school with nits! I feel like the worst sort of chicken mum. I have recently introduced two new hens into the flock and also at the same time bought a new wooden traditional coop to house them all. I have poultry shield which I have been using on the house since day one but his weekend will be pressure spraying the house with the PS. I also have red mite powder and diatamous earth. Has anyone any recommendations for the right course of actions. No wonder Daisy had stopped laying and become so lethargic. A neighbour sugested that a good way to cover them in powder was to put some into a pillowcase and then with the hen in the case but her head out ,gently massage it into all the nooks and crannies! How soon can I expect the little blighters to die? Do I need to stop eating what eggs are being produced while I treat them all? Edited July 25, 2008 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jillus Posted July 25, 2008 Author Share Posted July 25, 2008 I have just had a closer look and it seems to be lice! I got some on my skin too so have had to hop into the shower pronto. Are these the same as human head lice and could I get them from my chickens, my head seems very itchy all of a sudden! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms Tilytinkle Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 Ah bless you & your choooks, what a shock for you. Hope you can contain & destroy the infestation. You sound a perfectly normal lovely chicken mum!!! OOoh talking of head itching . . just at the very thought of all of those little lice Hope you feel better after your shower. will you continue to hose down the wooden coop .. how will you know when they're all destroyed. My wooden coop is sooo old but yours you say is new. I powder all inside the coop with red mite, the hemcore & floor with DE & then give the chickens a little rub down with the redmite & also put DE in their dust baths. May i just add, your post has triggered concerns within me to be even more thorough checking my 2 new hens, our original brood are sp healthy but the two new ones do look at bit bedraggled & do have poor quality feathers & bald patches. Although they all free range mostly they do now sleep together in the eglu cube but like you not only did i inherit new new birds i inherited an old wooden cop to house them until intros were successful. Hmm they could easily pass on anything they may still have that wasnt noticed during their initial checks. I've just had a delivery of Red Mite so will check the newbies again , dont want to take any risks. Hope you get all of yours sorted out. Sorry i have no idea how long they take to perish. Good Luck. Ms Tillysnewchicksaresoterritorialwiththecubeslayingbox grrrrrrrrr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frugal Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 Head lice only affect human heads and these lice only affect chickens so don't worry! They're completely different species if you are able to look at them. The best thing I've found for getting rid of lice on hens is Johnson's Anti-Mite spray which you can get in petshops as it's sold for budgies and pigeons but works a treat on hens too. Apply it to all your hens, give the coop a good spray round and close the door for half an hour or so then open it up again and within 24 hours, the lice will have gone. Repeat it after a week to catch any eggs which have hatched out in the meantime. You will need to withdraw your hens eggs for 2 days for your own consumption but withdraw them for a week if you sell them to the public. Good luck! It's nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about as most hens will get lice at some point as they get them from the visiting garden birds and we can't keep them out . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jillus Posted July 25, 2008 Author Share Posted July 25, 2008 Thank you so much for all the advice. I have been beside myself with worry especially as I managed to transfer at least 6 of these horrors onto my head while powdering Daisy in the pillowcase. I will get to the pet shop and get some Johnsons tomorrow and also undertake all the other things suggested. Poor old Daisy looks so dejected, she is sitting hunched up with her head under the Chicken Seat ( it is a cut down old farmhouse chair that the girls love to sit on!) in the hen yard. I hope she makes it but she seems almost depressed about this horrible business. In a previous existence I was a school Nit Nurse, Nitty Norah, and used to reassure Mums about nits and things and here I am needing reassurance myself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frugal Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 If Daisy's a bit low, Battle's Poultry Tonic has iron in it and is good for helping hens over parasites so it might be worth adding some to their drinking water if you've got some. It's in the Omlet shop too - http://www.omlet.co.uk/shop/shop.php?cat=Chicken%20Extras&sub=Health&product_id=130 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jillus Posted August 2, 2008 Author Share Posted August 2, 2008 A week on after discovering Daisy crawling with lice and the others all to a lesser degree I have just been out and checked them all and they are louse free. For the record I did a bit of a belt and braces job, I used Johnsons Spray and then louse powder and also I sprayed the house with Poultry Shield before sprinkling it with louse powder for good measure. I would not recommend the pillowcase method for applying the louse powder, I tried it on daisy and I got liberally doused as it escaped from the loose weave of the pillowcase. A far better method and one all the girls seemed to love was by putting some play sand in a shallow tub trug and then tipping in a tub of louse powder and giving them all a massage one at a time! This was all followed up by a week of extra special protein treats and Battles Tonic in the water. I gave myself a good measure of the other sort of tonic with a certain amount of gin in it afterwards too for good measure! Daisy is back to her old self and no longer sits around all hunched up looking miserable. I for one will be doing a weekly louse check from now on. Thanks again for all the help, what a friendly forum this is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frugal Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 Great news !! It's so nice to win the battle, isn't it. You've reminded me to check my girls today too as they seem to get bugs quite regularly at the moment. A quick spray with the Johnson's can is usually enough to send the bugs packing . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
