- Jul 11, 2014
- 2
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I have a Buff Orpington hen who is quite a broody girl; I finally put four eggs under her 3 weeks ago. The entire setting time she never would get off the nest on her own to eat or drink, so after a few days of that I had a daily ritual of taking her off the nest, helping her get her legs back, and watching closely the next 15 mins or so while she ate, drank, dust bathed, etc until she went back to the nest. We now have 3 chicks, coming on 2 days old. Two problems: she still never gets off the nest to eat or drink, nor has she led the chicks to do so. Today I took the chicks and introduced them to their crumbles and water; not too much luck and mom called them back. I then noticed- my hands were crawling with hundreds and hundreds of very tiny black bugs. Really tiny- the size of the tip of a pin. The hen must be infested- I wiped off my hands and touched the area again, and zap, loads more. They are not hopping critters , but crawling around. They were on my legs as well...SO- what do I do? At what age can a young chick have treatment? And at what time, given that she is taking care of young ones, is it safe to treat the hen for the bugs? With what product does one treat with? What do I do about this obstinate hen who still won't leave the nest to eat, etc? I have researched the lice/mite topic and none of the pictures or descriptions match up what I have seen, but I am new to the buggy aspect of chicken care. We have a rooster and other hens in an outdoor setting, she is in the "winter" coop in the barn by her own choice, and quite protected. Her comb is nice and red, doesn't look anemic to me, the out of doors ones also look fine. I will do a flock treatment with whatever product folks recommend, and tomorrow morning will examine all the birds closely for bugs. Don't want to freak out the hen, nor stress or poison the chicks. However, if they don't eat or drink on their own soon none of them will be around to treat! Help! Thank you in advance.
