Lavenders_Blue Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 I feel like such a negligent chicken mummy - I have just been out to see to the girls, check food and water and collect eggs etc. I thought I should give them a quick once over while I was out there and found horrible lice crawling around in their knicker feathers Poor ladies, they must be so uncomfortable. I am dashing out shortly to buy some lice-zapping products. Could I have your recommendations please as to what I should get? As the lice are already on the birds I imagine I need something that will deal with them pretty quickly. I will also be giving the coop a thorough clean out, lots of fresh bedding and most of all lots of lovely LOUSE POWDER!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chick wiggle Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 I used Johnsons anti lice spray, It worked a treat. spray once and then again 5 - 7 days later to make sure. good luck BTW, your not a bad chicken mummy, they all get lice from time to time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raina Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Hi, My cousin had a problem with lice of his girls He went out and bought some Tea Tree baby shampoo,he said it worked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted January 20, 2010 Author Share Posted January 20, 2010 Thanks for your suggestions. The anti-lice spray sounds a lot easier than shampoo... not sure I'm quite up for shampooing 4 chooks, especially in this cold weather! (Might be a treatment for the summer months if I find any more nasties). Do I need to withdraw eggs with the Johnson's spray? Oh and do I just give them a good blast all over with the spray? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rarara Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Sorry to hijack. But is there a way to prevent lice? I don't have chooks yet so have no idea. Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chick wiggle Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Lavendar blue, you just need to spray on their necks, vents and under wings as close to the skin as you can. You dont have to withdraw eggs, I didnt and am still here Rarara, You can dust the girls with anti mite powder ie, red mite powder or diatom, it will help but unfortunately some little blighters havent read the rule book and still insist on visiting our girls Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted January 20, 2010 Author Share Posted January 20, 2010 That's brill, thanks chick wiggle. I'll go and buy some Johnson's spray this afternoon and give the girls a treatment with it. I'm sure it will make them feel so much better! (I'm itching just thinking about it) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chick wiggle Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 It will make them feel better, i think it must be quite soothing for them when its sprayed on. Works pretty quickly too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emchook Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 I use barrier health louse powder [ organic ] in the nest box over the woodshavings. But this is as a preventative measure . Sorry..not sure what to do with them once there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Johnssons spray (as recommended by CW) is excellent and can be obtained from somewhere like Pets at Home if not your local pet shop Its not licenced for use on chickens and a weeks egg withdrawl is recommended (whether you do this or not is up to you..) I use Xeno 200 which is easy to use but quite expensive (it lasts ages though) and although that is not strictly a preventative it stays in the system and will kill any masties that bites the bird for a few months after I think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beulah59 Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 If you're not averse to using it (it's not licensed for poultry) Frontline spray or drops kills lice ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted January 20, 2010 Author Share Posted January 20, 2010 Thanks everyone for your suggestions, I went to the local animal and pet store and they didn't have any Johnson's spray. They recommended the Barrier Louse Powder which I was sceptical about as I thought it was a repellant? However they seemed confident that it would get rid of the lice.... So anyway the birds and the hen house have been thoroughly dusted (I think it will be a slow death by suffocation, hopefully just for the lice ) but I will be keeping a close eye on them as I still have my doubts that it will actually get rid of the lice. I will hunt down some Johnson's spray if the powder doesn't do the trick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiganchooks Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Don't forget to treat the house as well (although maybe that's not so necessary for lice who I think live most of the time on a host?). If you don't mind using chemicals then Total Mite Kill by Total Poultry Solutions also does lice, fleas and pretty much anything that crawls. It always seems to be in local farm supply shops. You spray it on, leave the house 2 hours to air, then let them back in. I've just used it once a month when cleaning out as a kind of preventative. *Edit - this is only for use on the house - not the birds!* Good luck getting the barrier powder on I have occasionally tried to put it on them as a preventative but it was tricky and you'll end up covered in it (and this is 3 birds who love to be handled) so I just dose their dust bath with it once a week and let them self-administer it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted January 20, 2010 Author Share Posted January 20, 2010 I must admit it wasn't an easy job! I enlisted the help of my mum as I knew it would be a 2 handed job... she held the chooks.... I dusted them both with powder! (She wasn't very impressed). I then gave the hen house a thorough clean out including poultry shield and a liberal dusting of louse powder in their bedding, which should help as they sleep in the nestbox. On the plus side... both the hens and the coop now smell gorgeous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emchook Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 That is the best thing about Barrier Louse Powder .. It does smell lovely ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 *puts hand up* I have a slight addiction to Barrier Red Mite Powder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chick wiggle Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 I tried a double dusting of mite powder to try and cover the smell of ukadex ..... Didnt work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted January 21, 2010 Author Share Posted January 21, 2010 Okay, a quick update for you. I have just been out to inspect the girls. Now admittedly it's not easy to inspect a moving target, but first impressions are good - I can't see any lice and yesterday they were quite obvious even at a quick glance. The louse powder is obviously doing it's job and extremely quickly too I'll check them again in around a week as no doubt there will be lice eggs that will have hatched by then, but I think from now on a routine dusting every 6-8 weeks will be on the agenda to keep beasties at bay. Now to look forward to the warmer weather and the prospect of red mite......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Kate Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 I'm with Beulah 59 - Frontline did the trick in seconds. but like Beulah says, not licensed for use on poultry. i googled it and it's very commonly used APPARENTLY, but you have to use the cat one; put it on the back of the neck only; and not use it more than every 3 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
