[dennis]

hi
im having trouble getting rid of chicken lice i've used the normal powders but don't seem to be getting rid of them or they ar getting reinfested fairly quickly is there anything i can use that will either give me a longer control or a spray that can be used on poultry i have 15 birds

[Casey76]

You can use a spot on kitten or puppy treatment; just a drop or two at the bottom of the neck.

Or, you could ask your vet for some frontline spray.  It's not licensed for poultry, so you may have to sign a waiver. (the spray is much more economical use a spray under each wing, remembering to part the feathers)

[dennis]

thanks casey

[joyfull]

my vet prescribes the frontline spray and I give the hen a quick squirt of it between the shoulder blades (parting the feathers) as they cant reach to preen there 

[hillfooter]

If the louse powder you are using is Barrier Louse Powder it doesn't surprise me as the active ingredient is a Mosquito repellant!  They should be free from mozzies though ,at least for around 20mins which is about as long as the Barrier fly horse spray works on my OH.  It's based on the same repellant.  After 20mins or so her fatal attraction overpowers the repellant though it keeps me off for a lot longer.
HF

[otis pony]

Hope this doesn't sound like a daft question but how do you know when you have lice (the hens that is!!), what do they look like?

[hillfooter]

Hope this doesn't sound like a daft question but how do you know when you have lice (the hens that is!!), what do they look like?

They look like large feathery birds and the lice look like very small, less than a mm long and very thin, insects of a grey colour.  You need to part the feathers around the back of the neck or round the vent area,  However they move for cover very quickly so you maynot see them but their eggs can easily be seen clumped around the base of the downy feathers around the vent.

Try googling for a photo otherwise I have one somewhere.
HF

[otis pony]

thx for that, found plenty of images on google.  Think I'll improve their bathing facilities as a precaution