Birds kicking and scratching - very bothered - please help!

[BennieAnTheJets]

So our poor Guineas are infested with something that bugs them to no end: they kick and shake their tails and heads while roosting at night, and they scratch with their beaks

I tried to clean out the coop, of course, and treat with DE (both birds and building) and used ivermectin (which usually kills everything inside and out that sucks on the birds) and sprayed the roosting bars and birds with Poultry Protector spray

nothing seems to help

I feel so bad for them - you can hear them kick even outside the coop - it bothers them terribly and I don't know what to do

can't see anything - either on them or on the roosting bars

I never got bitten by anything even after checking them out

what can this be and what can I do to help them???

please help!

 

[Celeste Cannon]

It might be something in the bedding your using, but closely inspect your birds for bugs. Take one and inspect the skin under the feathers very closely for a while.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

Sound like mites! I use Elector PSP, kills all bugs! Be careful with it though, just spray inside coop and run and on birds because it can kill good insects like bees.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

So our poor Guineas are infested with something that bugs them to no end: they kick and shake their tails and heads while roosting at night, and they scratch with their beaks

I tried to clean out the coop, of course, and treat with DE (both birds and building) and used ivermectin (which usually kills everything inside and out that sucks on the birds) and sprayed the roosting bars and birds with Poultry Protector spray... nothing seems to help... what can this be and what can I do to help them.... please help!

Your birds sound like they are doing normal every-day poultry types of things like preening and oiling their plumage and shaking their tails in order to settle feathers into a more comfortable configuration..

However if you still insist on using DE, instead may I show you some volcano less beach front property in balmy Sunny North Dakota? I can let you have it for like cheap.

Act now while I still have a large selection of cheap... I mean choice lots available. Just send $50.000 in cash or certified check to:
Mother's Bowling Alley, Casino, & Home for Wayward Women
PO BOX 666
@ # 1 Easy Street
On the Lam, Nevada

 

[BennieAnTheJets]

Thank you so much, SurferchikinSB!

I ordered it and will try it and be careful with it - do not want to kill bees and others but do need to help our birds!

Never heard of this stuff before - this forum is great.

 

[BennieAnTheJets]

Hi SurferchikinSB,

would you please share tips and hints with me as to how to use the Elector PSP, like dilution ratio you use, and how much to put on the birds and how, if you have time?

do you spray it on? until they are soaked to the skin or just a bit on each bird? We have a large flock and they do not like to be caught and handled, but I will do it to help them, if needed.

do you turn the bird upside down to reach the bottom?

any tips for what works to kill the pests on the birds and not be excessive with the spay much appreciated!

 

[aart]

First inspect your birds to find out what might be 'bugging' them,
then you can choose the proper insecticide and application technique.

I had a bird doing that the other day and was worried as she had lice as a chick, I inspected her closely and found nothing but a bunch of new feathers need the sheathing preened off.


Bugs check
Have you checked them over real well for mites and/or lice?

Google images of lice/mites and their eggs before the inspection so you'll know what you're looking for.

Part the feathers right down to the skin around vent, head/neck and under wings.

Best done well after dark with a strong flashlight/headlight, easier to 'catch' bird and also to check for the mites that live in structure and only come out at night to feed off roosting birds.

Wipe a white paper towel along the underside of roost to look for red smears(smashed well fed mites).

 

[BennieAnTheJets]

Hi aart - thanks for taking the time to reply!

Yeah - I totally agree with you on first finding the problem and then using the right treatment for that problem!

Only, I tired - can't see anything, even with a microscope - even went to the vet and they put tape on the bird's skin and tried to get a sample and they still can't see anything, even under their microscope

Their feathers are being destroyed, so I treated for feather mites in the past and that helped - this time it seems to be an additional bug, possibly a grain mite (have seen those under the mic before, again with tape lifted from surfaces and skin) - maybe the grain mites are chewing on their feather stumps after the feather mites destroyed the quill

anyway, I got the Elector PSP and will strip the coop again in the morning and spray everything (including the birds) if I can figure out tonight how to properly use the new toxin - any input much appreciated!

 

[aart]

I don't think grain mites will feed on a bird.
Feather shaft mites seem to be impossible to positively ID,
as far as I know-have never found any info on that.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

Maybe your birds are infested with depluming mites? @TwoCrows is able to help you.