TREATMENT ÀND PREVENTION OF CHICKEN LICES

Lice is a common disease in poultry farming. This article will explain the best methods for how to treat chicken lice for beginners. This is my firsthand experience. For starters, poultry or "chicken lice" are specialist parasites and evolve to be very good at feeding on their specific host species—but aren't able to live on other species. So chicken lice can't live on people, and the lice that kids commonly get in grade school can't be shared with their beloved chickens.

Lice are common on many animals, and domesticated poultry have around 50 species of lice. They are all soft-bodied, pale-colored, flattened-bodied insects. These tiny soft-bodied insects have mouthparts used specifically to chew on feathers and scales on the host birds' skin. Severe infestations can make a hen stop laying and even stunt growth in immature birds. If this happens to your flocks, it's crucial to understand how to treat chicken lice and set up preventative methods for a healthier future for your flock.

Handle your birds often or at least on a weekly basis to check for pests, injury and missing feathers. When watching your flock look for strange behaviors that are indicators of poultry health.

Behavioral Indicators of Lice Infestation:

Sitting, resting or lying down more often than usual
Social isolation of a smaller group from a larger flock
Repetitive head shaking
Extended periods of dust bathing
Excessive preening
More small feathers in the pen or coop than usual
Oddly folded wings or a scruffy look
Itching with one foot—much like a dog
Decreased diet
Slowed growth in immature birds with more than one of the above behaviors
Less laying in hens with more than one of the above behaviors
Multiple chick deaths naturally hatched by broody hens
It all started when I was walking down the dirt road I live on heading to give a neighbor a rooster. She had pecking order issues in her coop and I thought it may help. Tucked under my arm was Boss Fluff, the biggest silkie rooster you ever laid your eyes on. He clucked with excitement as we strolled along.

Having very recently moved I hadn't spent much quality time observing or handling my birds. We stopped our leisurely walk briefly when another neighbor commented from their yard on the hilarity of us walking our chicken and chihuahua down the road. The rooster flinched twice to shake his head while we talked.

Instinctively, I observed him doing this to see if I could figure out why he was fidgeting. I hang out with chickens a lot and found this to be a little odd. I noticed a tiny insect crawl near his eye. Silkies have dark blue skin making the reddish-orange insect easy to see. I was most of the way to my chicken friend's house and continued walking seeing as she was expecting us. I didn't go near her coop upon reaching the property but instead stopped to inspect my bird by parting the feathers.

After finding several lice in a small area, I told her the issue and showed her what they look like chicken was so infested that the lice were already at all life stages. There were full grown lice, nits, and eggs. He was literally crawling with them. This was my first experience with chicken lice, but not my first time hearing about it or seeing lice on humans.
Lices can make chicken not to grow well, so you must look out for lices in your chicken and make sure you do the needful immediately tot help.the chicken.