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critterranch, while it is the season for respiratory issues, it is also possible your silkie has mites. They are tiny, tiny little reddish-brown buggies that live in the coop and feed on the skin of birds at night. Silkies seem especially prone to them, especially since they nest on the ground at night - - and they have all that fuzz! Mites tend to chew on the facial areas of birds, as well as the vent areas - - and they can even infest the nasal passages and inside the mouth. Yuck! My silkie broodies had mites chewing around their eyes such that their little eyes crusted shut and I had to soak them open in the morning. Look for red, raw or even bloodied spots around the eyes to distinguish it from an oozing eye infection of another kind. Mine also had crusting/rawness on their faces.
You may be able to see the mites if you go into your coop at night with a strong flashlight and shine it on the surfaces of nest boxes, flooring, walls, etc. They look like tiny pinhead-sized crawlies.
So. . . IF you have mites they are a pain to get rid of, but here is how I successfully got rid of the ones bothering my broody silkies:
1) Gently rub your hen's eye and nose areas with neosporin daily. This will help heal the chewed areas, and helps prevent some of the chewing from the bugs. (Some use Vet RX on birds' faces, but it has aromatic oils that really bother their eyes.)
2) Dust your bird with poultry dust (ProZap brand has permethrin, Sevin has carbaryl. Choose your poison, LOL!). Wearing gloves, gently rub the dust into her bum area, under each wing, and if you are very careful you might rub just a tiny pinch into the head fluff, being sure not to get it in her eyes.
3) This is the crummy one, but the only one that permanently works to reduce/eliminate mites from your coop. Seal up any and all cracks with a waterproof caulk. Mites live in cracks, and as long as there are places to hide they will stay in your coop and climb back on your birds once they get in the building. I have told this story before, but I started sealing up my oldest coop building a little at a time to let the fumes air out, and by the time I finished sealing the insides and outsides of the nest boxes (fun!), the mite problem on my broodies was already gone. I went ahead and finished the wall corners and ceilings, and I now seal EVERYTHING when I build new coops. It really, really works.
Hope that info helps. Please let us know how your bird does! If you do have mites, they can kill a hen, especially if she is setting eggs.
Best of luck.
critterranch, while it is the season for respiratory issues, it is also possible your silkie has mites. They are tiny, tiny little reddish-brown buggies that live in the coop and feed on the skin of birds at night. Silkies seem especially prone to them, especially since they nest on the ground at night - - and they have all that fuzz! Mites tend to chew on the facial areas of birds, as well as the vent areas - - and they can even infest the nasal passages and inside the mouth. Yuck! My silkie broodies had mites chewing around their eyes such that their little eyes crusted shut and I had to soak them open in the morning. Look for red, raw or even bloodied spots around the eyes to distinguish it from an oozing eye infection of another kind. Mine also had crusting/rawness on their faces.
You may be able to see the mites if you go into your coop at night with a strong flashlight and shine it on the surfaces of nest boxes, flooring, walls, etc. They look like tiny pinhead-sized crawlies.
So. . . IF you have mites they are a pain to get rid of, but here is how I successfully got rid of the ones bothering my broody silkies:
1) Gently rub your hen's eye and nose areas with neosporin daily. This will help heal the chewed areas, and helps prevent some of the chewing from the bugs. (Some use Vet RX on birds' faces, but it has aromatic oils that really bother their eyes.)
2) Dust your bird with poultry dust (ProZap brand has permethrin, Sevin has carbaryl. Choose your poison, LOL!). Wearing gloves, gently rub the dust into her bum area, under each wing, and if you are very careful you might rub just a tiny pinch into the head fluff, being sure not to get it in her eyes.
3) This is the crummy one, but the only one that permanently works to reduce/eliminate mites from your coop. Seal up any and all cracks with a waterproof caulk. Mites live in cracks, and as long as there are places to hide they will stay in your coop and climb back on your birds once they get in the building. I have told this story before, but I started sealing up my oldest coop building a little at a time to let the fumes air out, and by the time I finished sealing the insides and outsides of the nest boxes (fun!), the mite problem on my broodies was already gone. I went ahead and finished the wall corners and ceilings, and I now seal EVERYTHING when I build new coops. It really, really works.
Hope that info helps. Please let us know how your bird does! If you do have mites, they can kill a hen, especially if she is setting eggs.
Best of luck.
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