Mites/lice problem

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Mites/lice problem
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Lorrainelovesplants

Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 6521
Location: Dordogne

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 12 1:06 pm Post subject:
I have to say the comparison with head lice was because I have children....... It just occured to me one day that they are very similar....

GigerPunk

Joined: 28 Oct 2011
Posts: 23

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 12 1:26 pm Post subject:

Lorrainelovesplants wrote:

I have to say the comparison with head lice was because I have children.......

Oh, I guessed that, wasn't implying you had them

We have kids too, but I luckily skipped that whole period, being a stepdad.

Woodburner

Joined: 28 Apr 2006
Posts: 2904
Location: Essex

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 12 4:00 pm Post subject:

judith wrote:

ninat wrote:

The lice may be an indication that her immune system is trying to deal with something else. Thay seem to take advantage when a bird is run down.

That was my thought too. I suspect the underlying cause is something else.

Yes, I see lice as a symptom rather than a cause. RM can be lethal though.

I've used 1% (or was it 0.5%

) permethrin (crawling insect) powder to great effect in the past.

eta The powder was for the lice, rather than the RM. Sorry I wasn't clear.

Last edited by Woodburner on Thu Mar 15, 12 8:02 am; edited 1 time in total

GigerPunk

Joined: 28 Oct 2011
Posts: 23

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 12 4:10 pm Post subject:

Woodburner wrote:

I've used 1% (or was it 0.5% :oops: ) permethrin (crawling insect) powder to great effect in the past. :twisted:

Ah right - We've been using this stuff, diluted according to the instructions and sprayed into crevices, contains Permethrin 2.3%, Tetramethrin 0.23%, Benzalkonium chloride apparently.
It's just a bit annoying we have to wait til the girls have laid and aren't bothered about going in the coop, yet can't do it too late as have to leave time for the coop to air and dry.
I supposed I could take a hairdrier up to the coops on a long extension cable to speed the process up...we did recently buy a hairdrier specifically for the chooks after all...
(not like I need one these days ;)

Solorn

Joined: 22 Oct 2008
Posts: 26
Location: Somerset

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 12 6:14 pm Post subject:
I bathed a chicken with puppy flea shampoo and that seemed to work. Chook wasn't impressed though:)

sicknote

Joined: 26 Oct 2009
Posts: 235
Location: Cornwall

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 12 9:04 pm Post subject:

We had messed around with various spray, powders etc in the past but have now adopted a zero tolrance policy. We eprinex the birds every 3 months for lice, worms and also protection against red mite.

We have had outbreaks of Northern Fowl Mite and once you get it it is really hard to get rid of, the only way we stopped it last year was to clean each house (and burn the bedding!!), spray jeyes in the house. While this is drying cut the feathers aroung the birds vent and spray with frontline. Replace the bedding a dust with Permetherin powder (Ant Powder). Repeat this process in two weeks but instaed of frontlining the bird just use Farmyard Louse Powder (blue tub) we found this worked the best.

With Red Mite we used Ficam W as we had a bad problem and this got rid of them all. Not a solution I would usually recommend but it enabled us to get rid of the problem and then impliment ways to prevent it in future.

I know this seems like a lot of chemicals but my logic behind it was, most of the bugs have now developed a resitance to the many sprays that are available and while you are trying each one it prolongs the distress to the bird(s) so these deal with the problem quickly and then enable you to work out an effective mehtod of prevention.

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35934
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 12 9:07 pm Post subject:

sicknote wrote:

I know this seems like a lot of chemicals but my logic behind it was, most of the bugs have now developed a resitance to the many sprays that are available and while you are trying each one it prolongs the distress to the bird(s) so these deal with the problem quickly and then enable you to work out an effective mehtod of prevention.

It makes sense to me.

Woodburner

Joined: 28 Apr 2006
Posts: 2904
Location: Essex

Posted: Thu Mar 15, 12 7:56 am Post subject:

GigerPunk wrote:

Woodburner wrote:

I've used 1% (or was it 0.5%

) permethrin (crawling insect) powder to great effect in the past.

Ah right - We've been using this stuff, diluted according to the instructions and sprayed into crevices, contains Permethrin 2.3%, Tetramethrin 0.23%, Benzalkonium chloride apparently.

No, the powder I use is for dusting licey birds. You can use it on the coops against RM, but a) it will kill all the beneficial insects as well as the RM, b) RM develop resistance to it, and c) it's very bad for invertebrates e.g. toads (and fish if you have a pond nearby).

Your powder is a combination with other things, so I don't know if it's safe to apply to chooks directly. Being a combination it is less likely that the RM will be able to build up resistance, but it's still nasty for ALL creepy crawlies.

GigerPunk

Joined: 28 Oct 2011
Posts: 23

Posted: Sat Mar 17, 12 8:34 pm Post subject:

Still no change with Tabatha atm, still seems listless and uninterested in most food - tried about 3ml of frontline 3 days ago, still early days for that to be showing any effect, maybe?

Checking one of the other girls today before they went to bed, I found these crawling round on Hattie:

(Not the best picture, I know, but you can click to zoom in)

They're tiny specks, like flecks of dirt. But flecks of dirt that run for cover when you part the feathers and expose them. (and not in a cute way, like the soot sprites in My Neighbour Totoro, if you know what I mean)
Is this the dreaded Northern Fowl Mite? (also saw a couple of the larger straw coloured mites, which I'm now assuming to be chicken lice, but they appear to be even more camera shy.) Or do 'normal' chicken lice start off that small?
I don't think her feathers look dirty, not compared to pictures I've seen on google images anyway. And not seen any sugar-like deposits of eggs either.

I'm guessing, over the winter while the ground was hard, they weren't dust bathing as much as they used to. Then, as it got warmer, the lice/mites started appearing but it also got wetter and their favourite spot under the tree still wasn't suitable so the little buggers didn't get dealt with by their normally regular bathes - They've got a covered area where we've provided a sand/diatom mix for them but they seem to just ignore it in preference to their favoured spots under the trees. Don't know how to encourage them to use the provided dust bath, they just sit around it, rather than get in it and use it.

What's our best plan of action here? Coops and bedding are cleaned and changed regularly, Jools is forever telling me off for using too much Diatom and Stalosan F and all crevices/rafters/perches sprayed with Nettex Total Mite Kill. I've seen little trace of red mite but it seems the girls are getting infested with these buggers.
Should I just sit down with each of them in turn and thoroughly douse them with diatom until they're all a uniform grey colour? Keep putting them in the dust bath til they get the idea? Bring them all inside, pop them in the shower and get the flea shampoo out? (Not sure I fancy that last one...certainly not with almost 30 girls, many of whom are rather flighty and will be difficult enough to catch, let alone bathe/shower/shampoo)

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35934
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Sat Mar 17, 12 8:58 pm Post subject:

I can't tell from the pics, really - I have never seen NFM, so don't have a comparison. But, the straw-coloured ones are 'ordinary' mites, so it makes sense these are something different.

I would dust them all with diatom and try scattering it in their regular dustbaths at this point. And, as they are all infested, I would get hold of some eprinex for them - you will need to ask your vet for it - for thirty, it would probably be worth it. I think it was about £40 when I got some.

There's a write-up about it on the Poultry Keeper site - if your vet isn't very poultry-savvy, perhaps you could print it out and take it for her to see - I think you said that she told you she needed to see one of them? https://poultrykeeper.com/poultry-medication/poultry-medication/eprinex-for-worms-lice-mites.html

Yes, it will cost you for the consultation as well as for the medicine; but, it will sort it out and as a bonus, it worms them, too.

sicknote

Joined: 26 Oct 2009
Posts: 235
Location: Cornwall

Posted: Sat Mar 17, 12 9:06 pm Post subject:

Bit hard to tell from the picture but it looks like NFM, the best way to tell is to look at their vent, these mites like to gather there but you will also see what look like small scabs, this is a classic sign. If it is then I would ask the vet for Frontline Spray or if you know anyone with a dog they might have some, this will kill them almost instantly.

Chez - it is cheaper to buy Eprinex over the counter at Mole Valley, £29 a bottle last time we bought some.

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35934
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Sun Mar 18, 12 7:19 am Post subject:
Do you have to pretend you have cows? Thanks - will do that next time.

sicknote

Joined: 26 Oct 2009
Posts: 235
Location: Cornwall

Posted: Sun Mar 18, 12 7:23 am Post subject:

Chez wrote:

Do you have to pretend you have cows? Thanks - will do that next time.

shhhhhhhhh! I couldn't condone such actions

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35934
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Sun Mar 18, 12 7:24 am Post subject:

Lorrainelovesplants

Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 6521
Location: Dordogne

Posted: Sun Mar 18, 12 9:22 am Post subject:
I dont (but they know me), but they do ask for your postcode, and may ask you something like how many cows is it for...which stumped me for a second when they asked me at Mole valley...

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