Bare patches, red skin, particularly around vents, egg production down

[Peter_S]

I've got a flock of 6 hens that are around 18 months old. I got them at 4 months last April, and they have been laying real well until about May this year. I determined they had mites and treated them with permetrhyn and the coop with neem oil. Worked well, BUT:

- egg production is still down at around 2 eggs per day for 3 birds
- upon close inspection, most birds have some intense redness around their vents
- most birds have think patches (or bald patches) on their breasts
- one bird has some other very red patches on her skin

I checked them for mites 10 nights ago (with lighted magnifiers) and saw none. I checked today in the daylight with magnifiers, again none. I found one blood-filled mite when working on the coop this weekend, but every time I go into the coop these days I do not have the feeling of creepy crawlers on me like I did during the infestation.

Any ideas what could be happening? Why the skin irrigation and the reduced production?

Thanks, Peter

 

[featheredplanets]

You won’t see mites on chickens unless you go into the coop at night, as mites live in the coop, not on the birds like lice, they come out at night to feed on the chickens. They hide in roosts, nest boxes, any cracks and nooks. They can be quite difficult to get rid of.

If the infestation is quite serious, your girls are probanly feeling stressed and taking to pulling feathers on themselves and others, making the situation worse. This all leads to more stress, which is why their egg production is down.

 

[Peter_S]

You won’t see mites on chickens unless you go into the coop at night, as mites live in the coop, not on the birds like lice, they come out at night to feed on the chickens. They hide in roosts, nest boxes, any cracks and nooks. They can be quite difficult to get rid of.

If the infestation is quite serious, your girls are probanly feeling stressed and taking to pulling feathers on themselves and others, making the situation worse. This all leads to more stress, which is why their egg production is down.

Thanks Featheredplanets. I did go out to the coop at night with my lighted magnifying glasses and saw no mites. I will check again tonight. As I saw one this weekend, there must be some... but I'm not sure that I have an actual infestation.

 

[coach723]

How many times did you treat the birds and coop? If it was only once then you probably didn't get them all, repeated treatments are usually necessary at 7 day intervals as eggs will continue to hatch. Here is more info with pictures to help identify them, and some suggested treatment options: http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification/