I have a hen that is in with a rather aggressive rooster. The hen hasn't had feathers on her back for some time.. I figured it was cause of the roo. Then I see she lost feathers around her vent and the skin was red. I sprayed her with Adam's Flea & Tick and she gained some feathers, but not completely yet.
Then I notice one of my Serama Roos has a red spot under his wing.. I discovered what looked like white warts at the base of his feathers around his vent. It was LICE EGGS!! Soo gross.. He was completely infested with lice... but the weird thing is.. I've never seen one bug on him.. that's how hard they are to see..
Then I check out some tiny chicks and finally see the bugs.. They look like flakes of dust.. and very very hard to see!!!
Needless to say, I've treated every coop and every chicken completely.. and spent a few days with some major heebie jeebiez...
I noticed that the ones that are infected also had less than bright red combs.. and tiny black spots that look like dried blood spots on their combs.. So if you see black spots on combs.. Check their vent area.. very carefully.. All of my flock is outside, and can dust bathe.. so that isn't always the only safeguard..
Hope no one finds what I found.. but this might give someone the edge and catch an infestation before it gets bad. :)
Just wanted to share this about Lice
Thanks, ZZ!
good info ZZ. Thanks for the heads up
ZZ, Do you spray their head too? I was worried about getting the spray in their eyes. Spray your hand and rub it on their head and comb? What method is best for treating their head? Lift and spray under wings too? Is it ok to spray the nest boxes (not that mine use them yet but some day)? I did spray the roosts and the entire floor and walls got misted too.
I've used the Adams spray on them twice when I cleaned the coop. Haven't seen any lice yet, but will check again this week. Thanks for the info!!
I only spray vent area and under wings. I don't spray feathers, cause the bugs are on the skin. They mostly stay in the vent area.. or will return to it.
I sprayed the nest area too.. only cause I didn't have the Sevin Dust. I won't use DE in the coop anymore.. but I may try Sevin Dust soon.
I don't know if I have been very lucky or what, I have never seen any lice or mites on any of my birds, not even once. I would sure like to know how chickens get either of them. It makes me feel imbarrassed to say I know nothing of how they get them or even for sure how to treat them, except what you folks tell me you do. I have often wondered if the weather conditions make any difference. Maybe my chickens have them and I'm just to blind to see them. It bothers me when ZZ's tells me how hard they are to see...What are the signs? Do the chickens act different, Do they scratch or rub objects to rid themselves of these creepy things?...I feel like you said ZZ's it gives me the heebie-Jeebiez just talking about it...Hay
My chickens have had lice (but not mites - I think). They showed no ill effects from them I just noticed them when I was handling a sick hen. They were little yellowish blobs that moved slowly. I then looked for them on the others and everyone in that coop was infected. I think they may have arrived on a couple of older pullets that I introduced. I treated my girls with a "Poultry Dust" from TSC which was a pyrethrin compound. They were the kind of lice that live on debris on the skin, not the blood sucking variety. I think they could also be introduced by wild birds. Unlike mites, they can exist only on a chicken, so they soon die if they are elsewhere. Still dusting nests would be advisable if you see lice on your flock..
Do you use DE on the kids too?
Haystack.. that is one of the main reasons I posted this! I never have seen anything till they were on the tiny chicks that are just now feathered out... I'm not sure I really identified a bug, just that this brownish "dust" seemed to be on them.,, and moving.
The vent area was the worst.. if there are feathers missing.. it's probably from them pulling them from itching. The egg clusters are close to the root of the feather and are in clusters.
This year there are a ton of flea beatles in the garden.. tiny things.. I think it's the great weather.. Really, I don't know.. and it's not something I wanted share, but when I realized how hard it was to see.. I knew it was something I wanted to let everyone be aware of. :)
My chickens' lice were quite visible. Could yours have mites instead?
OK, I thought I would dust as one of my hens does have the above described bald spot. I thought it was from the rooster and have been treating with veticin (sp?) but I'm going to go ahead and treat all with whatever dust I can find. The hens are friendly and easy to catch so I shouldn't have too much trouble. TSC says they do not carry this Sevin Dust. I will call them about the "Poultry Dust". It seems to me that they should all be consistent about what they stock. Does it go by a different name? I'm going to check at the farmer's co-op next. I just changed their bedding and put new hay in their run this past weekend. I use newspapers in the nesting boxes. Is it OK to just sprinkle the dust lightly in the box? Floor and walls of box or just floor?
One of the guys here at work says to also give them Wazeene (I think that is how it is spelled) in their water. Does anyone use this also?
I'm really glad you did post this ZZ's, It's just that if they are hard to see for you, I would probably never see them and that worries me. That was why I asked if it made the girls behave differently, then maybe I would catch it. It made my skin crawl just reading about it. I don't do well with bugs, lice, mites, that kind of thing. I remember when my sisters would get lice when I was small, I would avoid them like the plague, sometimes it would go on for weeks. Ughhh. So far I have checked all my seramas and have asked my wife to look with me and so far so good. Hay
It could be mites! I just see the egg clusters that were the same as the pics I found online. Only worse. Either way.. I've bombarded the entire place.
Too bad all of these spiders we've got this year can't just eat all of the mites (are mites arachnids as well?). This has been a banner year for spiders in our area!
Here too Terri.. I've never seen so many as I have this year.. I thought it was just me.. LOL
OK, ZZ, thanks for sharing!!
I was just minding my own business, reading the chicken forums, when I came across your post. Well, some of you may remember I have a Danish brown Leghorn that stopped laying a couple of months ago. Recently she started having black spots on her comb. Well, she got the once over and upside down check. I did not see anything on her, but I can't be sure. But my Cuckoo Marans hen has recently looked like she has "poop" stuck to her bottom. (sorry no better way to describe it) I checked her and I am sure that she has some sort of bugs. So, off to the feed store for, well, just about everything they had to offer. I have dusted, sprayed and cleaned the entire coop area.
I am sure that I got the jump on the problem.....
Heebie Jeebiez aside, just wanted to say Thanks!
Exactly Images! That is exactly how it starts! What looks like the start of pasty butt.. and a few missing feathers... generally not thriving... just kinda poor looking compared to the others... possible spots on the comb, but not necessarily..
You are very welcome.. This was one of those things I hated to announce to everyone, but I'm glad I did.. :)
Long time ago a woman told me.. "There is no shame in getting lice, there is just shame in keeping them" :)
I know I'm coming to this conversation late, but need to ask a question. I have a couple of hens that have started loosing the feathers on their backs (that is why I am online searching for the cause) and they seem to keep their feathers fluffed up all the time. I thought it was just the Texas heat bothering them at first. But I have noticed black spots on their combs as ZZ mentioned her hens had. I thought if a chicken had lice that it would scratch and preen a lot, is that not the case then? Is the Sevin Dust better for lice or the Adams Flea spray? Tomorrow I will check the hens to see if they actually do have a lice problem. If they do, about how many times will I need to dust them with the Sevin Dust? Thank you in advance for any help.
When my hens have had lice they had no symptoms at all. I only know if I look for them. You probably ought to examine them closely before treating them with anything. Could it be rooster damage?
Hmmmm..... It might be rooster damage. But since they have the black spots on their combs too, I became concerned about it being lice or mites. The mosquitoes are pretty thick right now because we have had a lot of rain so maybe those are mosquito bites on their combs. I will take a magnifying glass and check them over good before treating them. .
OK, my gals are looking pretty bedraggled right now. Loosing feathers on their backs and one has some feathers sticking out. I applied Sevin Dust on hens and in their dust bath areas (I have a general chicken raising book that says to do that). Also Sevin Dust on their roost and some in their nesting boxes. How soon should I expect to see results. Should I remove the rooster? He's actually kind of a nice guy, a bit hen-pecked by the dominant hens, but he's much larger than most of the hens. They have a nice cooling area under the coop w/bottles of frozen water changed out each day. I have a thermometer under there and it is about five degrees cooler under the coop w/the bottles. Also I have shade cloth up over the run and down the western side. They get a good breeze almost the entire day. Last year they did not look so ratty. They are eating fine, and otherwise look pretty alert, etc. Still laying.
The peacock and hen look fine and seem to be enjoying their summer.....so at least someone is having fun!
Oh, and the rooster looks just fine. Doesn't know why I am fussing over those hens when I should be paying full attention to him.
Actually, I was just reading in a British poultry book, that one of the ways to know if you hens are good layers is if their feathers look a bit ragged and worn once they are laying regularly. Apparently, because laying requires so much protein, a good layer will not be putting it into her feathers and will look a bit bedraggled as a result.
The writer also said to beware the hen that looks all bright and glossy while supposedly laying as she is the most likely not to be doing her share.
That said, a healthy hen should looks all bright and glossy right after the molt and before she starts laying in earnest.
The expert also said that a broody hen should not be fed layer feed, but just grain, because the layer will put pressure on her to begin laying when she needs to conserve her energy for the brood. Which is interesting, because I have noticed that my broodies, when they get off the nest to feed, only go for the scratch (it is a mix of cracked corn and other grains) and don't touch the crumble. Which used to worry me, but now not so much.
This message was edited Jul 6, 2010 1:21 PM
Oh, very interresting! Thank you, Catscan, for posting. That does make me feel a bit better.
Since the rooster is just brimming with vitality, as well as the peacocks, I don't think there was much of a mite problem. But one like to do what one can for the girls! I'm most woried, really about two of the hens. They have a spot worn through on their backs. I've been putting Veticine on that. Mine get extra scratch and past prime veggies. Not to mention the tomato horn worms. The layer feed is in the feeder and they can get at it when they want. They seem to be most interested in the extras and the peacock feed right now. Your British poultry book has come in very handy today! =~)
I have a group of young pullets, not of laying age, and all of them but ONE have feathers missing on their backs and tails. Hmmm, could there be a picker in the coop?
And which one would that be? Hmmmmm?
So we saying that the hens look the way they do because they are laying (which is demanding on them) and because of the hot weather and because of the roosters.
Well I already dusted mine anyway.
Where would I find fish meal to feed my chickens? I read that they need the extra protein in their diet (since they don't like the laying pellets (feed) and are only getting protein from catching/eating insects right now. I feed them produce thrown out from the grocery store, our leftover food from meals, and scratch/grain, plus they have a good size pasture to roam in - but they always seem hungry.
Odd that they don't like the laying pellets, but some chickens prefer crumbles. It would be best and easiest if you can find a layer diet that has all the needed nutrients in it - that they will eat.
Mine are really into the peacock food right now. It is the game bird crumbles. You might try that. It says on the bag that it is good brilliant plumage, so maybe they are working on themselves.
Okay,. Maybe chickens don't like the pellets because they are medicated. The game bird food isn't medicated so I'll try that again (they were raised from chicks on game bird crumbles.) Thank you for the info.