Hen won't eat - could it be the pine shavings

[Phyll'sFarmFamily]

My 2 year old red sex-link hen won't eat. She looks at her food or treats but won't eat. I have tried scrambled eggs, moistened Layena, and green beans. She has been lethargic and stays in her nesting box all morning and into the afternoon. By around 3pm she starts to stand and wander around. She does drink her plain water.

Her droppings have changed and this is what they looked like today.

on left was this morning and on the right was later today.

She gets Layena as her main food and for "treats" she gets sunflower seeds (hulled), chopped almonds, corn bread, and 15 grain bread. I use the treats to drip her medicine on. She has been on meloxicam, for pain, since last summer when she was attacked by a dog. Her leg was broken and is shorter than the other so she hops or has a major limp.
She has been in the house for the past 6 weeks because of the cold. When it is warm enough she is in the yard, close to but not with the rest of her flock.
She was wormed with Wazine and 3 weeks later with Safegard (fenbendazole) in the fall.

 

[Phyll'sFarmFamily]

She was wormed in October.

I have seen lice but I really had to look hard. I was treating her with "Natural Defense" which is peppermint oil 1%, cinnamon oil 1.5%, lemon grass oil 1.5%, clove oil 1.7%, and thyme oil 1.7% once a day for the past 3 days. She is biting a lot but I don't know if it was from the treatment, the lice, or my imagination. It seems like she is biting more since I started to treat. The oils seem strong and it's greasy so I didn't use it today.

At the base of a few of her feathers there were black clumps(?) that were really hard to get off. They almost looked like dried blood. I thought of mites but the clumps were about 1/16" or 2mm.

Would yogurt help if it was Coccidiosis? It seems like the symptoms but she has been inside and only out a few times in the past 6 weeks so how would she get it? She is on pine shavings and I removed the droppings twice a day. I'm sure that she had to eat at least a little of the shavings since she flicks her food out and then eats it. I just changed from the shavings to towels tonight, just in case.

It seems like her comb isn't as red. She sleeps more and doesn't stay up for long.

 

[purpledonna]

"Bump"

 

[nzpouter]

you checked her for egg bound?

 

[purpletree23]

She is not sick she is infested with mites or lice. Trust me.

Essential oils are good for us but can be very toxic for chickens.

I would give her a flea bath tomorrow. Very important to do it ASAP to get rid of the oils and to kill the ticks and lice. Use a good flea and tick shampoo and start her shampoo at the top of her neck. Wash her really well especially where lice like to hide out like her belly and under wings and her vent. Let the shampoo sit for the required amount of time and rinse as directed. Watch her face carefully. Any lice near her head will try to make a run for it.

Dry her well and put in a warm place to dry. She is probably anemic so feed her scrambled egg, cooked chopped pieces of beef or chicken (anything left over) try 1 or 2 chopped strawberries or 2 or 3 blueberries or 1 or 2 small cubes of apple. Too much fruit will give her diarrhea.

Cooked, cooled oatmeal is good and so if a little left over pasta. Do anything to get her appetite back. If you have grower feed give her that instead of layer. She needs to get her strength back before she will even feel like laying.

SHELLED sunflower seed is pricy but is great for getting a chicken back on her feet. The kind with shells is good for a healthy bird but one that is ill is better off with the shelled kind. Your feed store should have the flea and tick shampoo and the sunflower seed.

I would advise to stop all medications and feeding bread. She isn't sick and the bread only contributes to sour crop sometimes and it's not very healthy.

Let her rest for a day and then dust her with Sevin dust. 10 days later dust her again to get rid of anything that has hatched.

Whatever she is living in in the house (cardboard box, cage etc) clean it with scalding hot water or just get her a new box. Whatever you are using for her to lay on wash it in scalding water or throw away and get new material.

Hope this helps. Keep us posted.

 

[Phyll'sFarmFamily]

I checked her for egg binding but I can't feel anything abnormal.

I used a jewelers loop and looked between her feathers and on her skin and saw a louse and what looked like ground pepper (mites?). I knew that I had read somewhere about using Frontline so I found the site and dosage (http://www.poultry.allotment.org.uk/). Then I mixed a little sevin-5 with DE and painted it on her box. Last night I took her off the pine shavings and put her on towels and today I changed the bedding and dusted the new with the DE mix. I really hate using insecticides but I don't want to lose her! The poor thing has been through so much.

Do you think that I should bathe her tomorrow or wait a few days for the Frontline to start working?

I am still trying to get her to eat. I have tried oatmeal, scrambled eggs, shelled sunflower seeds, chopped almonds, yogurt, moistened Layena, green beans, thawed frozen corn, Flock Raiser with warm water, watered parrot pellets, watered finch pellets...I have added powdered avian vitamins to all of them. She just looks at the bowls and flicks the food out. The only luck I have had is with the yogurt which I put on the tip of her beak and to get some into the side of her beak when she opens it.

I'll try the blueberries and applesauce in the morning and cook up some pasta for her. Any advise on how to get the food in her?

Thank you

 

[Phyll'sFarmFamily]

She is looking better today

and she ate!!!!! The green beans did it. They're her favorite and finally she ate a few. I think that her comb is brighter but she has a lot of DE mix all over so it's hard to tell. She is pooping more but they are still watery but I guess it's because all she did the past 2 days was drink.

 

[purpletree23]

I'm glad she is better but DE will not kill lice and mites once a chicken is infested. DE and Sevin pained in her house is fantastic and so is changing the bedding but she needs a flea and tick bath. Tonight the clean litter will have mites and lice in it again and the whole cycle starts over again. Please bathe her and change the litter/bedding again.

 

[Phyll'sFarmFamily]

She is amazingly better!!! She is even eating, just green beans but at least it is something, and she pooped!!!

I used the Frontline on her yesterday and today dead lice. I guess that the mites are dead too since they're not moving and you could just brush them away. I changed her bedding and dusted it with the DE Sevin mix except I put more DE in.

I wanted to wait a couple of days to make sure that the Frontline is absorbed. Do you think that I should bathe her so soon after?

By the way, I Frontlined everyone. I don't want to go through this again!!! Now I know that even if it is hard to find lice keep looking. Also I am going to use the magnifying loop so I don't miss them!