Not Mites; Lice

The good news is that our chickens don't have Northern Fowl Mites after all. The bad news is they have lice. Thankyou to AZ for pointing this out to me. I guess I should have continued my research before jumping on the mite bandwagon. Not sure which pest is more difficult to eradicate, they both seem, well: pesty. 


Using what I had on hand already, I put some diatamaceous earth in their nesting boxes. I put some oregon grape root and licorice powder in their dust bath area, but they began eating it rather than bathing in it. Unfortunately I grew several herbs this summer that were recommended for treating lice and mites. But I failed to harvest them. I started the seeds indoors, transplanted them and watched as the mullein, yarrow and feverfew flowered. By then I had forgotten why I'd grown them and failed to harvest them. Feverfew is the source of pyrethrin and mullein is a natural source for rotenone. I'd feel more comfortable using my own fresh or dried flower mixtures rather than something out of a bottle. I'll be using what I have around the place already, but if all else fails I'll be making a trip to the feed store next week. Keep ya posted.