What is the fastest and most effective way to eliminate chicken lice?

Chicken lice is a common external parasite that has a great impact on the health of the chicken flock and affects the feeding, growth and development of the chicken flock. So what’s the quickest and most effective way to eliminate chicken lice? Let’s learn more about it below.

Symptoms of chicken lice

Sick chickens have a large number of chicken lice eggs at the base of their feathers. They become itchy and restless, often pecking at the itch with their beaks, causing their feathers to fall off and small nodules or bleeding spots to appear on their skin. Lice growing on the chicken's head can cause feathers on the head and neck to fall out. After the chicks are infected, their growth and development are hindered, they become emaciated, and even die.

What is the fastest and most effective way to eliminate chicken lice?

1. Medicinal bath

This method can only be used in warm seasons and is the best way to completely eliminate lice. Use 1 ml of 2.5% cypermethrin and add 2-4 kg of water (pure drug concentration 12.5-6.25 mg/kg) or use 0.7%-1% sodium fluoride aqueous solution, put it in a water tank, and control the temperature of the solution at 12-25℃. The operator wears rubber gloves to catch the chicken, first soaking the chicken's body and neck, then pinching its mouth to wet its head, then lifting it up to wipe off the liquid on its feathers, and putting it back into the chicken coop to dry. Spray the remaining liquid on the floor of the chicken house, cages, manure belts, etc.

2. Sand bath

Set up a sandy area near the chicken coop, and put 0.05% coumaphos, 5% sulfur powder or 3% pyrethrum powder on it for chickens to take free sand baths.

3. Mothballs

Crush mothballs into powder, and sprinkle it evenly in the chicken coop when the chickens go to roost at night. Check the chickens after 4 days. If there are still live lice, increase the dosage to eliminate all lice in the chicken coop and on the chickens. If there are many lice on the chicken, you can also sprinkle a little camphor powder into the chicken's feathers for better results.

4. Spray

In cold seasons, the spray method can be adopted, and the concentration of the medicine and the diluent is the same as that of the medicated bath. In addition, 20% cypermethrin emulsifiable concentrate (concentration 0.02%-0.04%) or 0.05% dichlorophenyl ether polyester can also be used. The operators wear masks and rubber gloves. One person catches the chicken, and the other uses a small sprayer to spray the feathers in the opposite direction, spraying all the feathers on the body until they are slightly wet. Finally, spray the ground, cages, mesh frames, etc. Spray again after about 10 days.

5. Powder spraying

Use 2% to 3% pyrethrum powder or 5% sulfur powder, spray it with a sprayer, or sprinkle it on chicken wings, inner sides of legs, chest, abdomen and other parasitic parts to kill chicken lice.

That’s it