When you open up your chickens feathers and see a creepy little crawly, surfing away for the unexpected burst of sunlight, your stomach drops and all those memories of your mum yaking at your hair with slathers of conditioner and the fine toothed lice comb, come flooding back.
All you want to do is grab your harshest chemicals and bomb the chicken coop to smithereens. Trust me, Ive tried that approach, in my favourite overall’s and a gas mask, dusting every bird for head to toe with lice powder. I’ve even heard of mother cluckers, attaching pesticide spray, inside the coop, that go off on timers to keep the lice and mites away. Lice, mites and other creepy crawlies have adapted to withstand the onslaught of poison and all your doing is giving your chickens respiratory issues, oh and melting your favourite over-alls (its True!)
So you want a solution that’s good for the chicken, the over-alls and the earth?
Diatomaceous earth is the answer. It is made of millions of fossilised aquatic organisms crushed into a fine powder, called silica and when it reacts with oxygen and water it becomes silicon dioxide or more commonly known Diatomaceous earth. When using other harsh chemicals you are advised to dust the entire chicken making sure you don’t miss any spots or the lice will move the late area and continue their cycle.
The great thing about using Diatomaceous earth is you can dust lightly across the back of the chicken and lice in that area will get dust on it and then they will take it to the areas that aren’t dusted, and then they transfer it to the lice and eggs developing in that area. The silicone dioxide particles are rough in shape and sticks to the insects exoskeleton, absorbing the fats, oils and eventually drying it to death. the lighter you dust it the more effective it is.
When I treat my chickens I will dust them once and again a week later, to ensure you have broken the lice cycle.