[northfifeduckling]

my poor daughter was absolutely grossed out taking the pic...help, please - louse egg clusters? mites? I tried to pull them off but they are rock hard, will a warm bath help to get them off?  I managed to get Dytomite powder today, my feed merchant had never heard of Diatomaceous Earth. Supposed to be similar but it doesn't say on the tub if you can put it straight on the bird ...DOES ANYONE KNOW??
sorry if folks feel queasy looking at this, we are desperate to help the poor lad  

[Helencus]

You can put diatom earth sraight on the bird no problem at all. It breaks the shells on all parasites so should help a lot

[rbarlo32]

they look like lice egg clusters. quite bad infestation. just use a spot on and thebird will be free of them within a day then use the powder if you want.

[doganjo]

You can put diatom earth sraight on the bird no problem at all. It breaks the shells on all parasites so should help a lot

Just found this website http://www.reade.com/Products/Minerals_and_Ores/diatomite.html and this explanation -

Dytomite is similar to a Diatomaceous Earth based product, containing only silicon dioxide and no pesticidal ingredients.

So it looks like Dytomite, Diatomite, and Diatom are the same, more or less.

DIATOMACEOUS EARTH (Diatomite)

uses: non-chemical insecticide, absorbent, filter medium, filler.

Diatomaceous Earth is an absorbent mineral formed from the remains of diatoms, and is composed mainly of amorphous silica.  Alternative names include diatomite and kieselguhr.

Diatoms are microscopic unicellular algae of the phylum Bacillariophyta, and can occur in marine or fresh water.  Structurally in two halves – hence their name - their cell walls are impregnated with silica which builds up into large beds.  Diatomaceous earth is therefore found close to the sites of current or former water bodies.

Diatomaceous Earth is a popular alternative to chemical insecticides.  It is milled to a fine powder, producing irregularly shaped particles of silica which can penetrate the epicuticles of insects, causing death by dehydration.  Unlike conventional insecticides, its action is entirely mechanical, and it does not leave harmful chemical residues which may affect other animals.

[northfifeduckling]

found a tube of spot on - do I use only a drop and and the rest on the cat? 

[rbarlo32]

probably a couple of drops should see them off. you will need to pull the feathers with the worst clustersoff. i burn any that i find.

[northfifeduckling]

That sounds sore! 

[rbarlo32]

not if your quick. its only the very big clumps. you will need to retreat in a few weeks to kill the hatchlings.

[sheardale]

Any luck getting rid of the lice.
Cheers Helen

[northfifeduckling]

spot- on applied and clumps taken off - he didn't even complain! I'm so glad he's quite tame once lifted out of his bed! Hope it will be sorted soon. We could find nothing on any of the girls but rubbed on a bit of Dytomite, too , just in case. thanks all for your advice!!

[rbarlo32]

they look worse than they are. it may be good to give him poultry spice. a dust bath helps.

[Womble]

Aye, but they keep on coming back. It took us ages to get totally rid of them last summer by repeated dustings with DE (Hemexsan in our case), and now two of our girls have them again now. I think they're fraternizing with the local pheasants when we're not looking! 

[Hardfeather]

It's highly unlikely that the pheasants are the source of your problems. I've never seen anything on wild pheasants which I've handled. In fact, when I worked on a game farm, with 35,000 birds through in a season, I never saw any parasites on them.

Dust bathing is how wild birds keep themselves free of parasites. If your hens can find a dry spot they will create a deep hole in which they will bathe daily. If you feel inclined, you can tip a bit of louse powder into the bathing hole and that will help.

[clumbaboy]

Hi everyone,
              If it is any help you can buy 6kg of diatomaceous earth from ebay for about £18 which is a lot cheaper than anywhere else I've seen. I ordered some the other week and it arrived within 3 days, the chooks were well impressed being smothered with it, their house and boxes and dust bath have been given a good treatment with it, and at that price you can be well generous with it.  

[Sharondp]

Hi everyone,
              If it is any help you can buy 6kg of diatomaceous earth from ebay for about £18 which is a lot cheaper than anywhere else I've seen. I ordered some the other week and it arrived within 3 days, the chooks were well impressed being smothered with it, their house and boxes and dust bath have been given a good treatment with it, and at that price you can be well generous with it.  

How much was the postage? I often think I've found a bargain on ebay until I add the postage!