Lice in chickens is a problem that many breeders encounter, regardless of the number of livestock kept on the farm and the conditions of their keeping. In the language of science, this problem is called malofagosis. It is considered one of the most common ailments in the poultry industry.
Lice in chickens
To date, about 40 species of arthropods that live on poultry have been recorded. Their diet consists of feather or fluff, as well as blood. The most common pest in this series is louse. The difficulty in solving the problem lies in the fact that parasites of several species can simultaneously live on one individual.
Mallophagosis is a dangerous disease, because chicken lice live on humans as well as on birds. To prevent this from happening, the fight against parasites should be carried out immediately by folk and medication.
Methods for the distribution of chicken lice
In addition to the fact that the bird feels discomfort, feeling pests on its own body, it is also at risk of catching an infectious disease, because louse is the main carrier of numerous infections, as well as parasites, which include helminths. This state of affairs poses a potential danger not only to the health of birds: eating contaminated meat can have an extremely negative effect on humans. To protect yourself, as well as the livestock that is in the chicken coop, you need to find out the nature of the spread of these parasites, as well as the most effective and safe methods of dealing with them.
Chicken louse is a problem that cannot be solved only by clearly ensuring cleanliness in the chicken coop or shed where the bird is kept. The fact is that mallophagosis can spread in rooms with ideal cleanliness due to wild birds, which are the main sources of the disease. The most common peddlers include:
- sparrows;
- raven;
- pigeons.
Any contact of these birds with domestic animals can lead to infection and further spread to all livestock. Due to the minimum size (from 1 to 5 mm), lice in hens often remain invisible to humans, which allows them to easily breed and freely infect chickens and the rest of the poultry. According to research, the period that the parasite takes to develop from the stage of eggs to a full-fledged individual does not exceed 1 month. Such active development requires no less active actions aimed at the total destruction of pests.
Symptoms and course of the disease
To get rid of the problem with the minimum expenditure of time, effort and money, it is necessary to timely determine the presence of deviations in the behavior and health of the bird. The first signs of an illness should be a reason for seeking qualified help from a veterinarian. Experts are able to diagnose malofagosis based on the presence of an adult on the surface of the bird's body. Parasites can be determined directly by the host of the individual without any outside help, since they look characteristic. Photos of such parasites can be easily found both on the pages of specialized literature and on the Internet.
The list of the main symptoms, which indicates the presence of an ailment in chickens, includes:
- anxiety in behavior, as well as regular attempts to comb feathers with the beak;
- loss of a part of feathers, the result is the appearance of exposed areas of the skin;
- decrease in body weight, as well as indicators of egg production (we can talk about a decrease of 10%);
- poor weight gain in young animals with a simultaneous decrease in interest in food;
- mortality, which is the result of the lack of timely and adequate measures to treat the disease and maintain the health of the individual at an optimal level.
At home, determining the listed factors is quite simple.
Methods for removing parasites
Today there are many answers to the question of how to get rid of feather eaters in a chicken coop. Moreover, the variety of these methods involves both the use of traditional medications and very effective folk methods. The drug should be chosen, starting from the fact that under normal conditions, the louse's life span does not exceed 4 weeks, however, their fertility allows for the production of up to 120 thousand individuals during this period.
It is also important to take into account the short incubation period, and it is on the basis of these data that the treatment should be selected. The louse in the chicken coop, as already mentioned above, can be defeated both with the help of chemicals and through the available folk methods.
Features of the use of chemicals
Chemicals very effectively destroy any chicken parasites. A ready-to-use preparation can be easily purchased at a veterinary clinic. The action of such drugs is based on the fact that the louse receives a fatal blow to the nervous system and simply dies. For chickens, this treatment is absolutely safe, so you can use it without fear.
Having applied for such funds in a veterinary hospital, you can count on a full consultation, as well as recommendations on the choice of drugs. In addition, do not forget about the need for disinfection in the chicken coop, as lice are able to live outside organisms for some time.
Sprays that are easy to process the body of the chicken are very popular among poultry breeders. The greatest efficiency can be achieved with this method in conditions when the number of livestock is small. A significant drawback of this method is helplessness in front of larvae, as a result of which, in order for chicken lice to be completely destroyed, these means will have to be reused after a while. For chickens, they are quite safe.
LICE IN Hens - How to get it out? Preparations, treatment of the chicken coop from lice, bedbugs, feather eaters.
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The use of folk options
Popular methods are used to defeat the louse. To get rid of parasites of chickens, it is recommended to use kerosene. This substance allows you to fight not only with adults, but also with larvae.
A mixture of kerosene and vinegar can also be prepared to quickly remove parasites. This solution moistens the feather of the bird, and the chicken quickly recovers. Under such conditions, chicken lice die quickly, but can flee and seek shelter in other birds, so processing should be massive.
At home, kerosene is multifunctional. On its basis, it is also possible to prepare a mass for processing rooms, which will help to effectively remove not only lice, but also other pests. In general, the control of parasites and the treatment of diseases with alternative methods can be very effective.
Preventive measures
Prevention of diseases of domestic animals and poultry, including chickens, is considered to be effective as a popular option, as chicken diseases, treatment and control of them become easier and more affordable. You can fight the sources of infection with boiling water and steam, which chicken lice do not tolerate. Changing litters at the right time also prevents spreading.
Everything must be done to exclude contacts of poultry with wild brethren. It’s important to make an effort to prevent the problem, then not be able to do anything about it. Yes, chicken louse is a serious problem, because chicken lice live on humans too, but you can fight it.