2yo hen molting...forever?

[McChooky]

Ugh, I am so sorry. That sounds awful. I don't blame you for being "picky" about raising your own birds. I feel bad I've missed the red mites this long. My hen doesn't look like she's about to drop dead, so I am hoping I have time to gather materials/meds to treat her thoroughly.

I followed the Mercks Vet Manuals recommendation for treating mites and eradicated them in 6 months

 

[Mother of Chaos]

I can totally see your point, in hindsight. These were my very first chickens ever, so I didn't know what I didn't know. She was like this when I got her, a bit disheveled, but I assumed it was a molting thing then. I am hoping to hatch out my own chicks for any future additions to the flock.

I think we've all done this sort of thing eventually.

It's how we all learn.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

I followed the Mercks Vet Manuals recommendation for treating mites and eradicated them in 6 months

Do you have a print manual, or the app? If print, do you have the professional (more technical version) or the pet health one? I've always had a Merck manual (for humans) lying around and found them very useful.

 

[McChooky]

Do you have a print manual, or the app? If print, do you have the professional (more technical version) or the pet health one? I've always had a Merck manual (for humans) lying around and found them very useful.

I use the one for animals online https://www.merckvetmanual.com/

The Merck Veterinary Manual is used by students and practicing veterinarians and contains authoritative guidelines for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of animal disorders and diseases.

 

[McChooky]

My chickens didn't grow any new scales on their legs or regrow any broken feathers until they molted .
I couldn't tell if what I was doing was working but the chickens weren't scratching anymore. I've read you can't see scaly mites or feather mites.I know I didn't!

 

[BDutch]

Not 100% sure, but I saw them in the nesting boxes this morning. They looked to be a brown or very dark red. They are tiny little round things. I have not seen them on my birds, though that doesn't mean they're not there.

If you splash a red mite in the morning, you will see blood .

I followed the Mercks Vet Manuals recommendation for treating mites and eradicated them in 6 months

I eradicated it after treating and using DE in summer within 2 months as far as I could see.

After cleaning and using DE the first time, the red mites kept coming out of their hiding places.
Cleaned everything a second time and took out some slats, the poop board and construction wood. Found hiding spots with red mite eggs.
Next I sprayed the corners and cracks with permethrin bc I needed a quick fix, going on a vacation soon. I couldn’t ask my neighbours too much. Bc I had a broody in the nestbox where the infestation probably started (having chicks in there before) , I did spray this one hen with permethrin. Not the chicks and the other hens. The hens got a little DE in between their feathers on their backs.

Permethrin isn’t allowed in the EU (Europe) to use on chickens who supply food. But they sell small spray flacons for songbirds and parrots.

I also bought special herbal mixtures. A liquid and a powder (finecto+) to add in their feed and water. Its not a poison and harmless in the right dosage. It makes the blood of the chickens unattractive for mites.

Besides this I used DE in their sandbath and in the nestbox, as a paint on the wood, an extra layer on all the cracks. I have a sand floor and used cardboard and sand under the roost for them to clean the poop easily. I replaced the cardboard every week.

After a month I only saw an occasional small mite in the corrugated paper rolls. After 2 months it stopped completely.

 

[McChooky]

If you splash a red mite in the morning, you will see blood .


I eradicated it after treating and using DE in summer within 2 months as far as I could see.

After cleaning and using DE the first time, the red mites kept coming out of their hiding places.
Cleaned everything a second time and took out some slats, the poop board and construction wood. Found hiding spots with red mite eggs.
Next I sprayed the corners and cracks with permethrin bc I needed a quick fix, going on a vacation soon. I couldn’t ask my neighbours too much. Bc I had a broody in the nestbox where the infestation probably started (having chicks in there before) , I did spray this one hen with permethrin. Not the chicks and the other hens. The hens got a little DE in between their feathers on their backs.

Permethrin isn’t allowed in the EU (Europe) to use on chickens who supply food. But they sell small spray flacons for songbirds and parrots.

I also bought special herbal mixtures. A liquid and a powder (finecto+) to add in their feed and water. Its not a poison and harmless in the right dosage. It makes the blood of the chickens unattractive for mites.

Besides this I used DE in their sandbath and in the nestbox, as a paint on the wood, an extra layer on all the cracks. I have a sand floor and used cardboard and sand under the roost for them to clean the poop easily. I replaced the cardboard every week.

After a month I only saw an occasional small mite in the corrugated paper rolls. After 2 months it stopped completely.

The red mite can survive without a blood meal for 9 months and can lay 21 eggs after a blood meal

 

[WannabeHomsteader]

I checked their nesting boxes again today to see if I could squish one of these mites and confirm red mites, and I can't find any! What gives? I checked my hens' armpits for mites and their flight feathers for pinholes....nothing. I feel like I should go ahead and treat for mites (it won't hurt), but I'm struggling to properly diagnose.

 

[BDutch]

The red mite can survive without a blood meal for 9 months and can lay 21 eggs after a blood meal

The eggs of the red mites can survive a very very long time. Not active mites without a regular good meal. True they can go to rest and revive again

but I'm struggling to properly diagnose.

I know 2 diagnose options:

• Shine on your chickens with a torch at night. if you have a mite infestation they try to hide away from the light and run over the roost.
• Add control rolls made from white corrugated paper (biscuits paper) paper under all roosts and in the best boxes. The size of the paper : about 10x10 cm or 4x4”. If you find 1 or a few red mites you have minor infestation. If you have many you have a nasty problem. If you find none, dont trust it. Check again for a whole week to be sure.

 

[WannabeHomsteader]

My OTHER hen who I thought was healthy turns out to be not so healthy. She is wheezing and sneezing pretty badly, and I haven't figured out the reason yet. But I have no idea if the problems are related. You can read about her here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/causes-for-wheezing-and-sneezing.1670413/#post-28714062

I started giving chick feed mixed with their usual laying feed to bump up the protein a little, for the "balding" hen specifically. I've watched extra closely lately for bullying and self-picking behavior and seen nothing. I'm stumped on these poor hens! I feel like I'm missing something.