Lice eggs all up and down and around vent and tail

[Bella_Hen]

My rooster has red sores and lice eggs all around his tail and up and down the back of his body. What would be the best way to treat against the lice eggs? my doctor suggested plucking out the feathers but that would entail plucking out almost all of his feathers. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Bella_Hen]

I just came across this very helpful thread so I think I am good:
: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-do-i-treat-chicken-lice.1215712/#post-19401066

In addition, Elector PSP seems to work great. Expensive, but worth the price it seems.

 

[dawg53]

Coconut oil should remove lice eggs.

 

[Bella_Hen]

Wow, thank you. This is so helpful!

 

[sylviethecochin]

I once had a really bad infestation (my boy escaped to the neighbor's barn and decided to live there all winter. True genius, that rooster.) and I had to bathe him with dish soap and a teaspoon of bleach in a 5-gallon bucket to get rid of the lice entirely.

What most people on here recommend is pyrethrin spray, as it's biodegradable and leaves your coop relatively quickly.

Hope this helps.

 

[casportpony]

I use these:

 

[ChickenyChickeny]

yes, coconut oil will work, but you must leave it in and continue to put more on for a couple of weeks. if you put it on once, it smothers the lice, but then by the time the coconut oil has worn off, new lice will hatch. Olive oil also works well, maybe it would be easier to get into the feathers than coconut oil? or maybe not. but the important part is to leave in the oil for a couple weeks.

Coconut oil should remove lice eggs.

 

[dawg53]

We're talking about removing lice eggs attached to feather shafts here. Coconut oil dissolves the lice eggs, much better than plucking out feathers than Bella_Hen's doctor recommended.
There are many products that will treat and kill lice, but not removing lice eggs attached to feather shafts.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I once had a really bad infestation (my boy escaped to the neighbor's barn and decided to live there all winter. True genius, that rooster.) and I had to bathe him with dish soap and a teaspoon of bleach in a 5-gallon bucket to get rid of the lice entirely. What most people on here recommend is pyrethrin spray, as it's biodegradable and leaves your coop relatively quickly. Hope this helps.

Stop and think of the realities of the situation. If one chicken has a large population of lice it wan't be long before all of your chickens will have the same uninvited guests. I would recommend that you dip or spray your entire flock with a solution of Permethrin and water. Permethrin is the Politically In-Correct version of Pyrethrin only Permethrin costs as much as 90% less than Pyrethrin. Permethrin is also up to 95% more effective than Pyrethrin. This is especially true when the rather weak insect repellent properties of Pyrethrin is compared to the strong insect repellent proprieties of Permethrin. Also I am dubious concerning "Pyrethrin spray" because Permethrin (Sometimes referred to as Pyrethrioids by unscrupulous companies) is the liquid industrial version of Pyrethrin which in it's "organic" or natural state only exists as a powder. Pyrethrin quickly becomes ineffective in the presence of Sunlight, while Permethrin a.k.a. Pyrethriods keeps killing mites for up to 30 days.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

yes, coconut oil will work, but you must leave it in and continue to put more on for a couple of weeks. if you put it on once, it smothers the lice, but then by the time the coconut oil has worn off, new lice will hatch. Olive oil also works well, maybe it would be easier to get into the feathers than coconut oil? or maybe not. but the important part is to leave in the oil for a couple weeks.

If any type of oil was a magic bullet against lice then there would not be any lice on anyone's chickens because chickens have an oil gland (called the Pope's nose) at the base of their tail that chickens use to dress their feathers with oil to both cause the barbs on the feathers to lock together and also to render the feathers water proof or at least water resistant.