How to get rid of chicken lice

Chicken lice are carriers of infectious diseases. Most species live only on layers and boilers. But this does not mean that a person does not suffer from parasites. Arthropods cause the death of chickens, and contaminated meat is not good for eating and selling.

Where do parasites come from

A louse that parasites a chicken is called a mallofag. The disease is called mallophagus.A live parasite is often found in a small and treated room of a chicken coop. Lice are carried on themselves by other species of birds, which are attracted to the feeder and clean water.

On a note!

Not only chickens are infected with mallophagus. Parasites can live on any domestic and wild bird.

The main reasons for the appearance of parasitic individuals:

• high humidity in the hen house;
• unsanitary conditions;
• poor chicken care;
• close cells;
• insufficient treatment of the room.

Insects from infected birds go to a healthy one and begin to actively proliferate. Fighting head lice in chickens in the advanced stage is very difficult.

What are mallophagous

Chicken lice

To see an insect with the naked eye is not easy, but you can look at the photo of chicken lice. The parasite is 1.5 - 2.5 mm in length brown. His head is slightly wider than the body. Lives on the skin. Eggs are laid at the base of the pen.

A louse cannot move through the air, but it jumps high. It has a hard chitinous shell. Capable of settling on any species of birds, but does not survive on mammals. Some poultry farmers mistakenly believe that chicken lice live on a person, taking fleas for mallofag.

Interesting!

The parasite can live without food for 2 to 5 days.

On the body of the chicken, the louse is held by three pairs of paws and strong jaws. The main power is blood. In addition, she uses fluff, feather, skin flakes, causing severe itching.

The most common places lice can inhabit are:

• under the wings;
• around the anus;
• on the neck.

To identify mallophagosis at the initial stage, use thermotropism - warming up the chicken for 10 minutes. After this procedure, bird lice crawl out to the surface of the pen. For the diagnosis of a sick bird the vet will take a scraping.

Symptoms

At the initial stage, the disease in chickens almost does not manifest itself. But pests multiply rapidly and soon poultry farmers can notice them on layers and boilers.

The main symptoms that indicate chicken lice:

1. The bird behaves restlessly, often sifting feathers, nervous.
2. Yachting of hens decreases on average by 11%.
3. Chickens fall feathers and down, bare body.
4. Body weight decreases.

Lice in chickens

Skin damaged by a pest is constantly itching. The hen seeks to relieve the itch and pecks itself, plucking feathers and hurting itself.Chicks infected with mallofagom do not gain weight and die from exhaustion. Adults suffer from anemia, lose their appetite, lose weight. Some pests affect the eyes and cause conjunctivitis.

Interesting!

Louse on the human body does not survive. She can not bite the skin, which is thicker than chicken.

Roosters are more susceptible to disease because they do not like to take sand baths and less often clean feathers. If the comb gets a bluish tint, then it is worth checking the bird for the presence of pests.

Methods of struggle with mallophagus

The fight against parasites is in the processing of poultry and premises. Inexperienced poultry farmers often do not know what to do if chickens have lice. Therefore, they waste time using inefficient methods.

You can rid the bird of pests by folk methods and poisons. Regardless of the method of struggle chosen, for complete elimination of the parasite, the chicken is treated twice. The second treatment is carried out a week after the first.

Folk recipes

If the disease is not in the acute stage, then you can do with "homemade recipes." They are good because they are available and do not cause an allergic reaction.

On a note!

Drugs do not apply to the eyes and beak of the bird.

The most effective home remedies are as follows:

Folk remedies

1. Table Vinegar. The substance is diluted with water in a 1: 3 ratio and the bird is sprayed. The easiest way to handle the chicken from the spray.
2. Kerosene. Patients chickens deposited in a separate cage and process them. The substance damages the chitinous shell of the lice, causing their death.
3. A mixture of alcohol, gasoline, kerosene. Components are mixed in equal proportions, and then applied to the skin of the chicken. The tool allows you to partially destroy the mallofag eggs.
4. Herbal decoction. Take 300 g of tansy, wild rosemary, chamomile. Herbs pour 6 liters of boiling water and boil over high heat for 15 minutes. This popular recipe is used when the infection is minor.

Each home method can be used for the purposes of prophylaxis or in case of suspected mallophagiosis, but it is not possible to contact a veterinarian.

Chemistry

The preparation for the treatment of lice can be purchased at a veterinary pharmacy. Treatment with "chemistry" is started when it is no longer possible to remove lice from chickens using folk methods, or the problem with "homemade recipes" has not been eliminated.

The most popular substances include:

1. Insectoacaricidal powder. The drug is rubbed into the skin of the chicken. For processing enough 1 - 5 g.
2. Butox. One ampoule is diluted with 4 liters of water. If you want to process a large number of birds, then take 2.5 ml of the substance and 10 liters of water.
3. Front Line and Beafar. The insecticide is available as a spray. It is sprayed on the chicken until its feathers get wet.
   

   Spray Frontline
4. Promectin. Effective drug for the treatment of young animals. It is added to drinking water, following the instructions.

It is necessary to process not only the bird. Louse can be in the room. In this case, even bird litter is dangerous. To handle the chicken coop is used:

• Sevin;
• Peritrum;
• Butox.

All substances are applied according to the instructions. Before processing it is necessary to put on a protective suit and mask.

On a note!

To get rid of chicken lice in the apartment, it is enough to carry out wet cleaning, and the poultry farmer himself should wash the suit for work and take a shower immediately upon returning to the house.

Prevention

It is easier to prevent the appearance of unwanted insects than to treat a hen house for lice and fleas. If you follow certain rules, the risk of pests is reduced:

1. It is necessary to do regular cleaning in the hen house, change the bedding, process the feeders with boiling water.
2. In a small house you can hang bundles of wormwood. The smell of grass will scare the louse.
3. Seal the gaps and holes in the chicken coop so that the rats do not penetrate it. Destroy the nests of wild birds.
4. Make chickens a bath of sand and ash.

Not always preventive measures help. Therefore, once every two weeks should inspect the feathers of the chicken. It is better to do this with a magnifying glass and on the street, as the chicken louse is small and difficult to detect.