# lice?



## BabbaYagga (Jun 24, 2005)

hi everyone,
my pigeons seem to have lice.  They are swarming with the little bugs all over and they have holes in their feathers.  I have never had this problem before, so how do I get rid of the parasites? Also, I have chickens in an adjacent coop to my pigeons. Will the lice spread from the pigeons to the chickens? 
advice would be appreciated. thanks,
mary.


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## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

Hi Mary, 

You will need to treat all of your chickens and pigeons with some kind of spray or dust. There are all kinds of anti parasitic products on the market, some of them can even be added to the bath water. Check out the "Pigeon Supply Stores" in the resource section of the forum. Or, you could use sevin dust that is available at most garden centers. If you spray or dust your birds though, be very careful to avoid the eyes, and mouth areas.

Your pigeons might have got the lice from your chickens but I would think that it could have gone either way.


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## feralpigeon (Feb 14, 2005)

Hey Babba Yagga,

You'll also want to 'treat' the living areas in addition to the birds themselves or
the cycle will never be broken. A product like Scalex would work for the feathers and living area or something like Ivomec Sheep Drench can be used in the bath water or made up as a spray and sprayed directly on them. Jedd's has a pretty good line of products, although you can find Scalex or similar Pyrethin
based products locally at most pet stores in the bird section. Just make sure not to spray around the eyes and beak/nares. You can fashion a hood out of a sock cut in half for protection. Also, the spray can be placed on the top of the head area by spraying onto the finger and applying this way. 

fp


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## Feather (Dec 8, 2005)

I'm glad that this subject came up, because I have intended to ask this question for a long time. Another customer at the feed store where I buy my feed told me that you can put the product that I buy for lice in the bath water for my pigeons. I have been mixing the product that I buy (Insectrin X concentrate with water and dipping my pigeons one by one. I have always been very careful not to get their beaks or eyes wet. When my birds take a bath, there version of sticking in a toe is to dunck their lil faces in the water.

The active ingredient is 10% Permethrin. Is this safe to put in the bath water?

Feather


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## feralpigeon (Feb 14, 2005)

Feather said:


> I'm glad that this subject came up, because I have intended to ask this question for a long time. Another customer at the feed store where I buy my feed told me that you can put the product that I buy for lice in the bath water for my pigeons. I have been mixing the product that I buy (Insectrin X concentrate with water and dipping my pigeons one by one. I have always been very careful not to get their beaks or eyes wet. When my birds take a bath, there version of sticking in a toe is to dunck their lil faces in the water.
> 
> The active ingredient is 10% Permethrin. Is this safe to put in the bath water?
> 
> Feather


Feather, when I look at the concentration of the main ingredient in Scalex, it is Pyrethrins @ 0.03% concentration:

Pyrethrins.....................................................0.03%
Piperonyl Butoxide, Technical............................0.30%
Other Ingredients**......................................99.67%
Total.........................................................100.00%

**Go figure on that one....

Anyway, I don't know about a 10% concentration for that or at what concentration you are mixing it. I hope that 
if you are doing the dipping thing that you are wearing those exam gloves in that you will absorb the ingredient through the cuticles--this is considered a major area of absorption for painters working w/solvents. 

fp


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## Feather (Dec 8, 2005)

fp,

Concentration:

Permethrin 10%
Other 90%
Total 100%

I mix 1/2 T into the a plastic bucket.
I do start out with plastic gloves, but after the first dozen or so, they are always folded up, soaked inside and out laying on the table.


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## feralpigeon (Feb 14, 2005)

Feather said:


> fp,
> 
> Concentration:
> 
> ...


Is "T" tsp or tbsn, and how much water is in the bucket? 

fp


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## Feather (Dec 8, 2005)

FP,

I'm sorry!
It is 1/2 tablespoon to a 3 gal bucket of water. 

Feather


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## Jiggs (Apr 1, 2005)

I use a product called duramitex. It is actually a dip that you mix with water but once the birds have been dipped I mix in a spray bottle and only coat them around every 3-4 months or so. I also use the left over dip to paint the walls, boxes etc.

Otherwise you can buy an avain spray in a bottle from the shop but it works out expensive if you have many birds.


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## re lee (Jan 4, 2003)

Feather said:


> I'm glad that this subject came up, because I have intended to ask this question for a long time. Another customer at the feed store where I buy my feed told me that you can put the product that I buy for lice in the bath water for my pigeons. I have been mixing the product that I buy (Insectrin X concentrate with water and dipping my pigeons one by one. I have always been very careful not to get their beaks or eyes wet. When my birds take a bath, there version of sticking in a toe is to dunck their lil faces in the water.
> 
> The active ingredient is 10% Permethrin. Is this safe to put in the bath water?
> 
> Feather


 I would never just let the birds bath in the dip. Just dip the birds. I would recomend a warm water for the dip. Helps to let the feathers soak the dip better instead of shedding off. I went to malathion as a dip And liked the results. Plus it can most often be found local And works great. Never dip the birds past the mid neck line to avoid dunking. Pick a day where temps in the loft are above freezing as it takes longer to dry after a dip. wearing gloves rubber gloves is a good idea. Good thing about dipping it is very fast even if you have a 100 birds. Not as messy and seems to work better over all.


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