Chicken louse and fight with it: preparations from parasites, prevention

Chicken louse - (otherwise, puhoperoed) a small insect that lives exclusively on the body of poultry and inflicts a huge damage to its health by its parasitic activity. There are about 40 species of such pests, and several of them can attack the feathered animal at the same time. Mallfages (another name for chicken lice) are specific to their host: they live on birds, they will never attack mammals.

Chicken louse description

Mice in size (about 2 mm) lice are characterized by an oblong segmented calf of yellow-brown color. Head with small antennas antennae, large, wider than the trunk. On the body of the host, the parasite is secured by jaws (mandibles) and three pairs of legs with grasping claws.

The chicken louse feeds on bird flu , feathers and exfoliated particles of the epidermis. Blood does not drink, but does not disdain discharges from the wounds and abrasions. Females are excessively prolific: during the life cycle one pair is capable of producing about 100,000 offspring. Eggs are small (0.5-1.5 mm), oval in shape, attached to down, feathers and trunk. The appearance of the larva, which looks like an adult specimen, occurs in 6-18 days. In a mature louse, she reincarnates for 12-20 days, having passed through three stages of molting. All their lives small parasites spend on the body of the owner, outside the habitual habitat can survive up to 4 (maximum to 6) days.

Causes of infection with mallophagosis

Chicken lice in the hen house infect poultry of all ages, but the youngest suffer most from such parasites. The source of infection are wild birds (sparrows, pigeons, crows), sick chickens, equipment and equipment. It is noticed that the number of mallfages is much higher in males, as the latter, in contrast to the chickens, do not pay much attention to the cleaning of the plumage. The peak of the incidence of mallophagosis often falls on the spring and autumn seasons. Puhopeaperedam like young feathers, so during moult the symptoms of the disease worsen. The defeat of chicken lice is mainly due to poor care, bored contents, poor diet, and dampness in the chicken coop. If there were chicken lice: how to get rid of such harmful insects? What drugs to use? How to recognize a pest?

Symptoms of lice in a hen

It is quite difficult to detect lice with the naked eye: insects are intolerant of light, so they hide in secluded places (in the near-anoral zone, on the lower and lateral parts of the trunk and under the wings) and can even adjust to the coloration of the plumage of a hen. A high number of parasites determines the alopecia of poultry, most often exposed are the back, neck and stomach.

With a careful examination of the pen, you can see in it the holes that the pest eats while moving along the body of the bird. Pests are also capable of damaging the eyes of domestic birds, which causes the inflammatory process (conjunctivitis).

To determine the infection with chicken lice can be on several grounds:

• Restless behavior of the bird. The hen pecks itself and plucks the pen in an attempt to get rid of the parasite.
• Significant loss of feathers and bare skin areas. In severe lesions on bald patches (as well as on earrings and crests), crusts of dried blood, wounds and injuries, lice eggs and their secretions are noticeable.
• Weight loss and decreased egg production.
• A bad set of live weight chicken young.
• The case of the bird.

It is quite difficult to see chicken lice with the naked eye; To simplify the inspection, the chicken is recommended to warm with a lamp or 5-10 minutes to keep under direct sunlight. Insects will crawl closer to the source of heat and become well marked. Outwardly, these are living black dots, very similar to moles. On a dead bird the chicken louse does not live, from a cooling corpse it immediately crawls to a more favorable habitat.

Chicken lice - spreaders of infections

Lice in chickens, in addition to parasitic activity, are carriers of various kinds of infections, most often helminths. And this in the future will necessarily affect the person who used the meat of a sick chicken. Therefore, after finding out lice on poultry, immediately get rid of them. To treat a feathered louse affected by lice follows by spraying it with insecticides (using a garden sprayer). Wet feathering should be carried out evenly. Also in the fight against parasites, you can use special powders that carefully rub each bird individually, while observing the recommended dosage and avoiding getting the medicine into the eyes and nose.

Chemical treatment methods

Since chemical preparations that have a paralyzing effect on the nervous system of an adult insect, do not kill eggs of chicken lice, treatment should be performed twice: in the cold period with an interval of 12-16 days, in a warm period - after 9-12 days. When kept in a hen house, the bird is sprayed with medicines on the perches at night, while in the cell, it is sprayed directly into the cells. The most effective drugs from chicken lice:

• An aqueous solution of chlorophos 0.3-0.5% concentration;
• "Permethrin" - 0.5% emulsion;
• "Thuringia" 5-7% concentration;
• "Entobacterin" -2% aqueous suspension;
• "Tsiodrin" - 0.25% aqueous emulsion;
• Powder "Pyrethrum";
• Powder deltametrina, designed to shed chicken;
• Aerosol "Ekoflis", "Get", "Nyuda";
• Drops "Neotomazan", "Bars", "Frontline", "Dana", "Stronghold". They need to be applied to the torso in several places, and then the medicine will be distributed on the skin itself.

Chicken coop treatment

Simultaneously with the treatment, it is necessary to carry out the treatment of the room in which the chickens are located. Than to process a shed from chicken lice? Effective action of insecticides such as "Carbophos", "Sevin", "Butox", "Neostomazan", which should be sprinkled with litter and all surfaces. All that is not afraid of fire, it is required to burn a gas torch or a blowtorch, and close the room and wait several days for the drug to act. The bird must be removed from the premises for the duration of treatment, and when it is repaired, the henhouse should be ventilated, wet-cleaned, and littered. During this period, the litter should be renewed, the feeders and drinking bowls should be washed with water, and it is possible, for good, to forget about such a problem as chicken lice.

How to get rid of chicken lice folk methods?

A foul smell of chicken lice can scare off vinegar, in which for greater efficiency you can add the same portion of kerosene, or a solution of benzene, kerosene and ammonia, which should be treated chicken coop and its feathered inhabitants.

On the floor, you can scatter herbs that repel insect parasites: chamomile, wormwood, tansy or rosemary or spray essential oils of eucalyptus or rosemary.

Preventive measures

Prevention of the disease by mallophagosis consists in the periodic processing of the chicken coop by steam or boiling water, the timely removal of manure and food debris, the regular replacement of litter. Every year, whitewash the walls using a mixture of bleach and slaked lime. It is also important not to allow the introduction of parasites into the coop with new livestock and to exclude the contact of chickens with wild birds. Every month the feathered head should be inspected for the presence of lice and arrange ash baths (in equal proportions of ash and fine sand) for dry bathing.

At a high risk of infection, it is recommended to add "Chlorophos" (per square meter - 2 grams of the drug) to a dry litter, digging in which the hens will disinfect their own feathers.