One Hen with Dirty Butt Feathers (Updated with Pics)

dawg53 said:

Sand, about 5 to 6 inches deep. It wont wash away nor get muddy...think beach. It also dries quicker and deters parasites. It's easier to scoop poop and no more nasty mudpuddles that birds love to drink from.

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I've heard the sand must be a particular type or grade. Dawg 53 - or anyone else - can you weigh in on this please? I've got a dirt run I realize needs to be changed out to something better, something that will keep out moisture after rain. Thank you!!

I do sand in my run. I researched before hand and understood that unwashed, multi purpose (construction sand) is what to use. Play sand is washed and bleached therefore unadvised. I'm new to chicken life myself, but I've had great success with sand. Not smelly, easy to clean with a cat scooper, and duel purposed as dust bath. Dries quickly, no water puddles after a rain. Only thing I've noticed is my girls poo has some sand grit in it, but I assume it's harmless and possibly bennificial.

this ARTICLE IS BY NATALIE ROSS TEXAS ON BACKYARD POULTRY ABOUT DUSTING FOR MITES
With mites, you won't see them often on the bird as they get on the bird at night to feed - leave the bird during the day to wait til the next feeding, lay their eggs in the coop, etc.
I'd say this sounds exactly like the mites are still there. They're difficult to eradicate and, because of their lifestyle, impossible unless you treat the premises as well as the birds. I'm surprised (and sadly yet not surprised) that your vet didn't let you know that.
I just posted this to another thread (which I will link). You might find it interesting and useful perhaps (https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php…):
My post was as follows:
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I recommend "poultry dust" (PERmethrin). Mites are devilish creatures and they must be knocked down quickly because they will take down birds quickly, causing anemia even to the point of reduced immune systems and eventually death.
The trick is that they don't often live on the bird - for every one you see on the bird, there's an army hiding in the cracks of your coop, the bedding, etc. That's why they're so tricky to find. They feed onthe bird, and then retreat to the environment where they can stay for a while without feeding, laying eggs in the coop all the while.
So you MUST treat the birds with something that will kill the mites, and DE doesn't. I love the product, but for its forte's - one of which is using when you don't have mites/lice etc to help reduce the chance that you will.
Poultry dust is a safe product, gentle enough for young birds. It's a chemical synthesized version of what used to be a natural insecticide made by grinding up flower petals. It's not harmful to bees like Sevin is. You will need to dust the birds thoroughly - paying careful attention to warm/moist places like under their wings, their vent, etc. You can even use ivermectin so that anything that drinks their blood dies. More on that later.
You also MUST treat the entire coop. Mites are difficult to eradicate but it can be done. Scrape the bedding aside - apply poultry dust to the ground. Replace the bedding, and then sprinkle poultry dust on it - stir in. Use water or mineral oil and make a thin paint of the poultry dust. Use that to paint the wood in the coop paying particular attention to the cracks in the wood. Some people recommend painting the coops with creosote; but we can't get that here in texas. You can paint the inside of the coops eventually with paint and let alot of paint fill the cracks in the joints - think of that as a spring project to make less crevices in which mites can hide. THEN use DE in the dust baths, etc, under the bedding, to help. But remember wild birds can bring mites in - and they lay eggs which can hatch very quickly.
But at least for now use the poultry dust to paint what you can. Treat the birds thoroughly, retreat in 7 days, and again in 7 days.
You can alternately use ivermectin for the bird-treatment-part. Ivermectin pour-on has activity for up to 28 days in cattle for sucking lice and mites. It also has long term activity on poultry and is systemic. Anything that drinks blood will be killed by the ivermectin, though it has a 2 week withdrawal for eggs, 28 days for meat, and has a wide safety margin. MOre on ivermectin in the article on worming from Glenda Heywood below) Ivermectin will also worm your birds.
Please feel free to email me with any questions you have. I've used DE products for over 10 years and believe in them. In fact, I used to get chided years ago for being silly by trying DE. (grin) But after all these years, I sure would hate to see a perfectly good and useable product get a bad rap for being recommended for something it can't do. Use it for what it CAN do (food grade only please - never garden grade), wisely and sparingly, and enjoy the naturalness of it. smile
The ivermectin article: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php…
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Edited by threehorses - 7/17/09 at 8:04pm



Hen with mites!!
i have a hen who has mites. ive tried dusting her but it doesnt seem to be working. im wondering...
backyardchickens.com

Edited by Staff

seattlefarmette said:

Wow, they ARE eggs! Now that she's all clean & dried off we inspected her vent again and they are definitely white egg clusters - they look like the lice egg pictures. Our other two hens have them too, but not as badly (and they also don't have any poopy feathers)

We're going to treat them all with lice powder & will let you know how it goes. Thanks again for all the advice.

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What is the lice poeder that you use and where did you get it from?

I had chicken mites last year. I raise silkies. Never had before. DE is not recommended as a treatment. Can be used as a preventative but also with risks of causing respiratory issues. I don’t use it personally. I used permethrin dust in the coop and sprayed w permethrin spray under each birds wings at base, their vent and behind their neck feathers. Worked great. Repeat in 7 days. Mites seem to be more active in January-March at my home in Ga. You get them from native birds, rodents, squirrels, chipmunks. Mites should be taken seriously and dealt with swiftly as they can make your birds anemic which can kill them.