[gingerplant]

Hi there everyone
I took the plunge and got some hens a week ago, 2 light sussex and a wyandotte.  Sadly the smaller sussex has been looking very peaky, quiet & listless, sitting/standing in the corner of the garden.  Her comb looks really pale (she's about 17 weeks so not laying yet, but looks paler than her contemporary's).  I thought she had a cold yesterday, snotty nose.

However, on close inspection today she's crawling with little critters at the base of her feather round the neck.  I thought they must be red mite at first, because I thought lice didn't generally make them unwell, but they are orange coloured and about 2mm long, and I can clearly see them crawling around.  Do they sound like lice or red mite to you experience people?!

Luckily I gave the hen house a good scrub yesterday, left the perches & nest box out in the sunlight, and sprayed everything with poultry shield generously, and didn't see anything in the house.
I'm going to try to find some powder today & treat them all this evening, but thankfully the other 2 seem very happy though I haven't been able to catch them to inspect closely 
Any ideas?
Thanks!

[dizzylizzie]

They sound like the lice i found on a few of my chickens(and my daughter and crawling up my arm!) i used kitten strength frontline on my chickens , no problems since. its not licensed for poultry so the vet made me sign a disclaimer form!. they were all fine tho, and no more crawlies

[Aunt Sally]

Lice can make animals feel lousy 

Thave a read of this topic http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=5250.0

[SMD66]

red mite dont live on the bird so I would say lice. 

[themagicaltoad1]

Definately lice, and if one has them you can practically guarantee the others will have as well, maybe to a lesser degree so aren't showing signs yet. You need to treat them all.

[nzdunn]

They sound like the lice i found on a few of my chickens(and my daughter and crawling up my arm!) i used kitten strength frontline on my chickens , no problems since. its not licensed for poultry so the vet made me sign a disclaimer form!. they were all fine tho, and no more crawlies

is there an egg withdrawal with kitten frontline     nickyx

[beulah59]

They sound like the lice i found on a few of my chickens(and my daughter and crawling up my arm!) i used kitten strength frontline on my chickens , no problems since. its not licensed for poultry so the vet made me sign a disclaimer form!. they were all fine tho, and no more crawlies

is there an egg withdrawal with kitten frontline     nickyx

See here http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=44268.0

[dizzylizzie]

hi nicky...i ate my girls eggs and we are still here! ...but like ive said before everyone in my house is used to my cooking so their stomachs can probably cope with most things  :wub:he he he
i put 2 drop onto the back on the neck(part the feathers and put it on the skin) of the smaller chickens and 3 drops onto the larger girls.
im a bit confused about the red mites tho...how does frontline stop them biting, and if this is true would it not be simple to get rid of them?(sorry, im new to chicken keeping)
i know frontline works well on the scaley leg mite, but didnt know it worked on red mite

[gingerplant]

Thanks everyone, that's really helpful.
I figured it was probably lice, and so I de-loused her with powder two nights ago (when to be honest I thought she might not make it through the night  ) and she was much much better yesterday  :happy:, walking around rather than just falling over, pecking, drinking, eating.  She's still skin and bones and looks anaemic so I thought I'd de-worm as well just to make sure, and I figure she'll take a while to completely recover?  Saw a few lice again yesterday so I powdered them all again last night (not sure I should've done so soon though...)
I'm sad, but just relieved that it isn't red mite!
I only got them from a breeder a week ago - should I say something?
I should probably have had a good look myself when I got them, but I'm a novice so I'll have to put it down to experience i guess 

With respect to frontline (sorry, i know this has been done to death!), given that it has to be on prescription from the vet, do I have to take the chicken in to see the vet to get it?!

Thanks again everyone, it's so great there are so many people out there to help, it's really appreciated 

[AmandaH]

You can get Frontline without prescription now.  Pets R Us (or whatever they are called) sell it, as do some chemists (it's probably next to the head lice shampoo ).

It is an "over the counter" thing that you have to ask for, rather than just pick off the shelf, but you can get it.

Good luck with the creepy-crawlies (shudder).

[dizzylizzie]

gingerplant, i have P.M'd you

[Sue33]

we found the johnsons lice spray very good 

[gingerplant]

never thought I'd be de-lousing chickens before de-lousing my children  but the 4 year old starts school on Thursday so maybe I should get the Johnsons spray so that when the inevitable happens i can kill all known lice in house (or louse in the house?!) in one swoop!

 

[joyfull]

If you buy frontline from shops you have to sign for it and they shouldn't sell it to you if you tell them it's for chickens (only vets can sell it knowingly for chickens). If you do buy it from a shop get the kitten one.

[dizzylizzie]

i sent gingerplant a P.M. saying pretty much the same. you could always buy it for any feral kittens that may come into your garden, then if you hae any left over , it could be used on your chickens.....after treating any feral kittens that may happen to wander into your garden of course