Blood on egg after havong mites!?!?!?

[pretend farmer]

My two hens recently had a bad case of red mites...they were very weak by the time i realised what it was...i had gotten rid of the mites but for the last 3 weeks since then, i havnt any proper full shelled eggs, only a couple soft shelled ones. this morning i got a shock when i found a completely soft shelled egg covered in blood... HELP!?!?!?

 

[aggiemae]

Left untreated mites can cause (sever) anemia. Among other concerns, anemia reduces the oxygen carrying ability of iblood stream.

To treat start adding vitamin drops with IRON (the dropper type used for human infants) to their water. Use a plastic waterer, one squirt in one quart for 8 hens. Do this once a day for three or four days then, even if the problem seems to resolves, continue to do it once or twice a week for two more months. Also add leafy dark greens like chard, beet tops, collards or spinach (but not lettuce). Frozen spinach cheap and just as high in iron as fresh.

Supplement your hen's diet with protein and calcium. For protein I blend up eggs (shell and all) and scramble them and mix this with a small amount of feed and some buttermilk. ( 2 eggs with shells,1/2 cup of putter milk, 1 scant cup of feed for 8 hens) If you chicken like it tuna is a great and easy source of protein that also contains some iron.

Also If you give your hens treats make them count.Shelled raw sunflower seeds (under $1.00 a pound in bulk bins) mixed 50/50 with mixed grain "scratch" in a good alternative to the almost empty calories hens get from scratch alone.