LICE.
Gross, right?
Not sure how it got into my coop, but there it was, plain as day, clusters of eggs or "nits" glued to the base of the feather shafts on most of my birds. And then noticing the little ugly things scurrying all over the back-ends of the birds. Ugh. I think probably, when our "Old Lady" bird was slowing down and spending most of her days resting in the coop, she came in contact with something that carries it (not sure what, could be any little birdie thing) and the lice had a party on her as her health was deteriorating and we all know how parasites love the sick.
Of course, then it quickly spreads and before we know it, we have a full-out issue.
OK, so first we get a little mad and disappointed that we are not as good chicken farmers as we thought, and then we get down to business.
We soaked them first in a sea salt and pennyroyal oil bath.
Then again in the bubbles:
This drowns most of the lice and provides instant relief from the biting and itchy the little buggers cause. And it's quite amazing how much the chickens relax and enjoy the bath! They just sink down into it. We had to hold them up to make sure their heads stayed above the water!
Then, a blow dry, and let them loose down in the yard to primp and preen and put all their feathers back in order.
Lady Eggadaya (an Easter Egger hatched on our property last year) thoroughly enjoyed her bath. She was the first to have a spa treatment as she was the first to let us know of the problem in the first place. She jumped up on my lap while I was sitting in the chicken yard and squawked at me as if to say - "HEY. I'm itchy. DO SOMETHING about it!"
I'm sure Lady Eggadaya said "Thank You" when we were done.
Further treatment included 3 treatments of DE dusting, 7 days apart, with more DE sprinkled in their favourite nests and dust-bath areas.
Today was the 3rd (and hopefully final) DE dusting, and checking everyone over, they all look great! Yay!
