lice, i've got lice!!!!

[tlck9]

nextex louse powder, anyone used it

[Nicos]

Hmmmm....as the weather is cooling down a bit, I've noticed many wild birds nipping into the coop to eat the layers pellets!!!

It seems to me that wild birds are a bit of a no no with our chooks!!

[Scarlet]

nextex louse powder, anyone used it

Never seen it available near me. For a lice infestation I would use frontline spray, it's not always favoured by others as Suechooks said but it works fast. There is no egg withdrawal and it was recommended to me by our local vet. I think powders act more as repellents

[jessmorris]

I haven't heard of it. there are powders with essential oils which are mainly repellents (and pretty useless to treat an infestattion I'd have thought) and powders with chemicals, usually Permethrin. I'd have a look at yours and see if its the latter. the other thing it might be is a natural product called diatomaceous earth which is, like chalk, made from the sharp shells of millions of teeny sea creatures. these cut the shells of mites and they then dry out, might work the same way on lice.....I don't think chicken lice will spread to your dogs or you as I think they are specific to their hosts. Don't worry too much, all our chooks get lice, and red mite, and some of us get northern fowl mite too!
JM

[RichmondHens]

All chickens get lice. They are caught from wild birds and/or other chickens nearby. They will not live on you or your dogs and cats. It is not a sign of bad housekeeping if your chickens get lice. The main thing is to check them regularly and treat so they do not get out of hand as a heavily infested bird will be pulled down by the infestation and then is more likely to succumb to other more serious illnesses/viruses. With all parasites, prevention is better than cure. What you use for this is up to you.

There are pros and cons to all treatments. Adding louse powder to a dustbath dilutes the active ingredients and is not really effective. Most powders are designed to use straight onto the bird. Diatomacious earth is probably the best thing to put direct into a dustbath but if your bird already has lice then a good powdering of the bird with a louse powder is needed too. A pyrethrum spray should be effective too, as it is an insecticide as opposed to a repellent, and it is natural in origin. Do not confuse it with permethrin which is synthetic and rather more toxic, particularly to cats. Frontline is also very effective but also quite harmful to the environment and I have my concerns about its use on a food source.