[Tazzy]

Hi all,

One of my girls had rather a runny set of feathers around her vent and she seemed to be drained of energy; no flapping of wings in the morning, reluctant to walk around or preen and stopped perching, preferring to sit on the floor. Because she is by far the oldest girl in the coop, I mistakenly wondered if she was coming to the end of her days and didn't check her properly for a couple of days. I was so ashamed to see her rear covered in lice and eggs!

We treated her and all others, scrubbed out the coop and dusted them all over. We've repeated this for a couple of days and although the lice are vastly reduced in numbers, it's taking a bit of time for them to all go.

Is it worth trying Front Line on them? I'm also unsure about the eggs that are stuck to the base of the feathers. Should we try to loosen them off as I don't want them to hatch - or will they drop off in time?

Didn't realise how much these vile things sapped the energy of the girls, but the old girl is picking up fast and has just started perching again. Will make more frequent checks in the future as I've never experienced this before. Rectal checking is not on my list of things to do before I die 

[Casey76]

You can frontline them, it should kill the lice within 24 hours.

As for the eggs.  The only way to get rid og them is to pluck the feathers out I'm afraid

[alancane]

I would definitely go for the frontline treatment.

[PaulineM]

Hi
We used frontline when we first got our chooks and discovered a few weeks later that they had lice, put it on at bedtime and they appeared clear by the next morning. 

[Helenaj]

I was interested to read this and went through a few old postings. I have some of the spray frontline left over from when my terriers were puppies. How many "squirts" and where should I spray my girls - neck, under wings, vent area, etc. Do I also need to throw their eggs away and for how long. Sorry there's so many questions, but spraying them is so much more appealing than dusting as I seem to get more of that over me than them!

[joyfull]

part the feathers between the shoulder blades and give a short blast, there is no egg withdrawal with frontline 

[Helenaj]

Thanks again Joyfull - you appear to be the font of all knowledge!

[Tazzy]

Thanks for all of the useful replies - wasn't anticipating having so many eggs from one bird   On a serious note though; even though they have had the lice powder for the last 4 days, are the eggs likely to hatch out or will they have been killed?

Can I get Frontline from the web or does it have to come from a vet, I've never had to get this before. It certainly sounds much easier than having to dust the girls.

[joyfull]

I always get mine from my vets as it isn't licensed for poultry and Defra frowns on people using non licensed medication unless it is prescribed by a vet (I use the spray and it is exactly the same stuff for cats and dogs).