Bug infested possibly anemic rooster-help!

[Kiki]

Poor guy.
Be sure to treat your whole flock and make sure you treat the coop too.
(for the bugs with permethrin)

 

[BirdLeaf]

Pictured is what was crawling on him. It’s hard to see but it’s the best I can do.

I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is I killed all the lice on him!
The bad news is, as soon as I finished he stretched out and promptly died.
I sprinkled the rest of the flock and the coop with the dust as well as DE. I’m going back on the next warm day (only 12 degrees today) to get the spray. Most of my birds haven’t been handled much and I can’t catch them. I’m going to have to herd them into the coop and spray them down.

 

[BirdLeaf]

Also, it’s worth mentioning that he regurgitated some sort of white liquid as he was dying, not sure what it was

 

[happyhens1972]

Pictured is what was crawling on him. It’s hard to see but it’s the best I can do.View attachment 1271206 I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is I killed all the lice on him!
The bad news is, as soon as I finished he stretched out and promptly died.
I sprinkled the rest of the flock and the coop with the dust as well as DE. I’m going back on the next warm day (only 12 degrees today) to get the spray. Most of my birds haven’t been handled much and I can’t catch them. I’m going to have to herd them into the coop and spray them down.

I assume you mean herd them in and catch them to spray them? You cant just herd them into a corner or something and spray them or they will inhale too much of it and not get enough on their skin to be effective.

 

[BirdLeaf]

I assume you mean herd them in and catch them to spray them? You cant just herd them into a corner or something and spray them or they will inhale too much of it and not get enough on their skin to be effective.

Yeah, I have to round them up into the coop and get someone to help me. The run is too big and they are quick. However, I may just have to dust them. I didn’t see any of the liquid form in a spray bottle and I don’t want them to get it in their eyes

 

[Morrigan]

It's far easier to do this at night when they are roosting. If you are quick and quiet, the others won't even know you have pulled one off, dusted it, and replaced it.

 

[silly4buttons]

I am sorry for you loss

 

[happyhens1972]

It's far easier to do this at night when they are roosting. If you are quick and quiet, the others won't even know you have pulled one off, dusted it, and replaced it.

Was just gonna suggest this myself!

 

[Boonie Stomper]

It's far easier to do this at night when they are roosting. If you are quick and quiet, the others won't even know you have pulled one off, dusted it, and replaced it.

X2 They cant see in the dark.

 

[rebrascora]

I would just like to add that in my experience, these bugs are an indication that a bird is unwell and unable to take care of itself and not the cause of them being unwell. That is not a red mite (looks like a louse) so it has not been sucking his blood and causing him to be anaemic and even if it was red mites, they would be feasting on the whole flock and you would be well aware of them before they got close to bad enough to be taking down an adult bird.... your skin would be crawling when you cleaned out the coop.
I am pretty confident in saying that your rooster was most likely sick due to some other illness or disease and the lice were just taking advantage of his weakness to flourish because he was too sick to dust bath and preen and I would guess that he has probably been sick for over a week, maybe a fortnight, although he has likely been hiding it until he was too weak to do so.
I'm so sorry that he has passed despite your efforts to help him. I know that can be pretty distressing. How old was he?