Causes and symptoms of the appearance of chicken lice, how to remove and what to do for prevention
Insects living on the body of farm birds are a real disaster for the owners. Due to the rapid multiplication of parasites, all chickens become infected with chicken lice in a short time, which damages the health of birds and reduces their productivity. Therefore, it is important for the breeder to notice the trouble in time and help the birds get rid of annoying insects.
Content
What do chicken lice look like?
These are small insects of a dark brown or yellow-brown color, no more than half a centimeter in size (usually about 2 millimeters). The body of chicken lice has a flattened shape, there are claws at the ends of the legs. On the head is a proboscis, with the help of which the parasites feed on blood, and mandibles (jaws). It is difficult to see insects among the plumage with the naked eye.
Chicken lice breed by laying eggs. After the appearance of the louse, it grows rapidly and after a few days it itself becomes capable of reproduction. Insects live for about a month, feeding on the blood of a bird, scales of the skin of the hostess, as well as down and feathers. There are many different subspecies of chicken lice.
Reasons for infection
Chicken can pick up parasites from a sick relative, as well as through contact with wild birds or rodents. The provoking factors are the lack of cleanliness in the chicken coop, dirty plumage, excessive accuracy of birds, and decreased immunity of birds.
Parasite symptoms
It is not difficult to notice the onset of the disease. When lice appear, the following symptoms appear:
- chickens become restless, begin to itch, peck at their skin, and therefore, wounds and bald patches form on their body;
- birds lose appetite, lose weight, rush badly;
- the skin of chickens becomes red and flaky, the birds begin to go bald;
- sleep disturbances.
In roosters, a bluish comb color appears.
Diagnostic rules
In order to detect the infection of the chicken population with lice in time, you need to inspect the pets every 4-5 weeks.
Armed with a flashlight, you should carefully examine the bird's head, neck and back of the head, the area under the wings and near the anal passage, the chicken's legs.
How to get rid of chicken lice?
It is not recommended to delay the initiation of treatment if peri-eating parasites are found. It is necessary to immediately process the chicken coop (the birds are transferred to another place), and then proceed to rid the hens of lice.
In an advanced stage, treatment is carried out with drugs, at earlier stages folk remedies give a good effect.
Pharmacy preparations
The necessary medications are purchased from a veterinary pharmacy. In order to remove parasites, it is recommended to use:
- Sprays (Clean House, Front Line, Beafar). Before starting the application, it is necessary to clean the chicken surface from contamination. Then the treatment is carried out over the entire body of the bird against the feathers, which must be lifted until the skin is exposed. Spray the bird until it becomes wet. It is important to ensure that the spray does not get into the beak and eyes of the chickens. Products such as Stomazan, Neostomaza and oxamate emulsion are contraindicated in layers and should not be used 30 days before slaughter.
- Drops (Front Line, Bars). Depending on the area of infection, the agent is applied either to the entire body of the chicken, or only to the withers of the bird. In this case, the drops should not fall on the feathers, but on the skin of the chicken, for which the feathers must be carefully moved apart. Drops should not be used more than once a month. The use of such products for chickens and sick chickens is prohibited. For young growth, drops are added to a warm drink.
- Water solutions (Tetrix, Executioner, Butoks). They are applied similarly to sprays by spraying chicken skin. For the treatment of chickens, Promectin is recommended, which is diluted with water and poured into drinkers.
- Special powders (Deltamethrin). Such funds are rubbed into the skin of chickens.
Any procedure is performed twice. The second time - 1-1.5 weeks after the first.
Without parallel processing of the hen house, treatment of chickens will be meaningless. The room where the birds are kept must be thoroughly cleaned and washed, and then sprayed with insecticides. At the same time, birds in the hen house should not be within 2 hours after treatment. When working with the product, it is recommended to wear special clothing, a mask and gloves. After two weeks, the treatment is repeated.
For spraying the chicken coop, it is recommended to use Peritrum, Karbofos, Butox, Sevin, Drucker, Diazinon, Tsifoks, Entomozan Super, as well as some products that are used to treat the birds themselves (for example, Butoks). It is necessary to prepare solutions clearly according to the instructions.
If possible, insecticide spraying can be replaced by steam treatment of the chicken coop.
It is carried out using a special unit, or by calling special services that have the necessary devices.
It is not bad to use insecticidal smoke bombs (Peshka-B) to disinfect the chicken coop. Processing should be carried out in the absence of birds. One checker is designed for 250 cubic meters of space.
Before you put the birds into the hen house, you need to lay a new bedding, add fresh food and pour clean water. To scare away parasites, herbs such as tansy, wild rosemary, wormwood or chamomile are scattered.
Folk remedies
Usually used in the earliest stages of the disease. To remove lice, use vinegar, kerosene (alone or mixed with gasoline and alcohol), a decoction of herbs:
- Vinegar is diluted with cold water in a ratio of 1: 3 and sprayed with chickens using a spray bottle.
- Kerosene is used in a similar way, only it is not diluted with water. To scare away ticks, you can add a little ammonia to the kerosene and apply a few drops of that agent on the back of the chicken's neck.
- It is recommended to make a mixture of kerosene, alcohol and gasoline in equal proportions. This mixture is rubbed into the skin of chickens.
- A decoction of herbs is prepared as follows: take 300 grams of tansy, chamomile and rosemary, pour 6 liters of boiling water, cook for 15 minutes. Allow to cool and spray the birds with this remedy.
In addition to the products used, you can use sand-ash baths.
They are also good as a preventive measure. A container with sand and ash is placed on the territory of the pen or chicken coop, and the chickens will fiddle themselves there. Sometimes purified sulfur is added there (bought at the pharmacy).
What means cannot be used?
Some remedies help out chicken lice, but harm the bird itself. Others do not cause harm to birds, but accumulate in muscle fibers and eggs, after which, getting into the body of people, they cause intoxication.
To remove chicken lice, the use of endrin, chloradan, heptachlor, benzene, hexachloride is prohibited.
When using approved chemicals, it is important to observe their dosage, since exceeding it can also affect the quality of chicken meat.
Possible consequences for chickens
Chicken lice have a negative effect on bird health. Particularly dangerous are insect bites, which cause severe itching in a chicken, since when bitten, parasites release special substances into the victim's blood, and thus can bring some kind of disease. If you don't help the chickens get rid of the lice, they can die.
Why are chicken lice dangerous for humans?
Chicken lice do not live in humans, but they can climb onto a person and bite him. To get rid of parasites, you just need to wash with ordinary means. The danger to people is not the insects themselves, but their bites, since lice can be carriers of various infections. In some people, chicken lice bites cause allergic reactions.
Prevention
To prevent the appearance of parasites, it is necessary to take seriously the arrangement of the chicken coop. It should be spacious enough, have a fence that does not allow sparrows and rats to get there. Regular cleaning is required in the chicken coop and aviary.
Proper nutrition of birds also plays an important role. The feed must contain all the necessary trace elements, vitamins and minerals. When buying new individuals, you should definitely make sure that they are not infected with lice or carry out preventive treatment.
Is it okay to eat meat from infected poultry?
Since chicken lice can carry disease, the meat and eggs of infected hens should not be eaten.
Chicken lice cause great discomfort to the bird, adversely affect its health, and if untreated, they can lead to death. Therefore, it is very important to monitor the health of birds, create good living conditions for them, pay attention to the quality of food.
