Chicken found dead over night, then mites in the egg box, now floppy comb

drewpyd85

In the Brooder
Sep 21, 2017
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8
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So last week I found one of my RIR hens dead in the egg box. I thought maybe she became egg bound and died over night. She didn't show any signs of being sick, when I last saw her alive she was very broody in her box so I left her alone. The next morning she was as stiff as a board, upside down.

2 days ago I go to gather eggs and I notice very small, almost too small for my eyes, mites/lice looking creatures on a couple of the eggs. I sprinkles some DE and added new bedding to the egg boxes and went about my day.

Today I go back for more eggs and I notice the mites/lice were still on the eggs...crawling over the DE powder like nothing was there. I removed the chickens from the coop and cleaned all the wood shavings up. I swept and scooped every last piece of their 10x10 coop. I sprayed some poultry safe natural pest spray all over the bare coop, let it dry and then put a heavy dose of DE everywhere. Once it settled I added new wood shavings, added a little more DE to the top and to their food.

I also bath my hens in some DE and added more to their dust bathing holes. All along the outside of the run (where they can not get to) I sprinkled seven dust in the bushes.

I order some garlic spray oil on amazon and plan to spray them as well every few days along with more DE until I'm certain that the mites/lice are gone.

Is there anything else I should be doing?

I'm afraid my RIR died from a infestation possibly and not from being egg bound. I now notice one of my barred rocks' combs to be a little floppy. I thought this was normal for her but now I'm worried it might not be. I don't have any pictures of her to compare it to so I'll post them here to see if you guys think she is normal or sick. She is very active and acts like nothing is bothering her.

Any helps or suggestions on what to do next would be great. I think I attacked the mite/lice problem pretty aggressively and I'm hoping my efforts clear the problem.
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So last week I found one of my RIR hens dead in the egg box. I thought maybe she became egg bound and died over night. She didn't show any signs of being sick, when I last saw her alive she was very broody in her box so I left her alone. The next morning she was as stiff as a board, upside down.

2 days ago I go to gather eggs and I notice very small, almost too small for my eyes, mites/lice looking creatures on a couple of the eggs. I sprinkles some DE and added new bedding to the egg boxes and went about my day.

Today I go back for more eggs and I notice the mites/lice were still on the eggs...crawling over the DE powder like nothing was there. I removed the chickens from the coop and cleaned all the wood shavings up. I swept and scooped every last piece of their 10x10 coop. I sprayed some poultry safe natural pest spray all over the bare coop, let it dry and then put a heavy dose of DE everywhere. Once it settled I added new wood shavings, added a little more DE to the top and to their food.

I also bath my hens in some DE and added more to their dust bathing holes. All along the outside of the run (where they can not get to) I sprinkled seven dust in the bushes.

I order some garlic spray oil on amazon and plan to spray them as well every few days along with more DE until I'm certain that the mites/lice are gone.

Is there anything else I should be doing?

I'm afraid my RIR died from a infestation possibly and not from being egg bound. I now notice one of my barred rocks' combs to be a little floppy. I thought this was normal for her but now I'm worried it might not be. I don't have any pictures of her to compare it to so I'll post them here to see if you guys think she is normal or sick. She is very active and acts like nothing is bothering her.

Any helps or suggestions on what to do next would be great. I think I attacked the mite/lice problem pretty aggressively and I'm hoping my efforts clear the problem.
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I'd say if the mites were on the eggs then you probably have an infestation and you say the hen was broody, mites feed on the chickens blood when they nest and roost so she could have become anaemic. I'm not sure about the comb but you're dealing with it right. I like to buy the flea bombs and set one off in my coop every few months, block the vent holes and let the chickens go loose for the day, works a treat.
 
Flea bombs could be harmful depending on what insecticide is used, will not penetrate bedding or get into all places, and I would not use them. Permethrin 10% spray or the garden dust is safe for chickens. DE is probably not going to get rid of mites, and it can be very dangerous to their breathing (not to mention yours.) Mites will require treating all chickens at least twice, 7 days apart to get the mites, and later, the newly hatched larvae. The nests, roosts, and coop must be treated after old bedding is removed, then replace bedding with new. Note that hay or straw may harbor mites, and some get mites when it is brought in. Most feed stores sell concentrated permethrin which will make many gallons for use. Read label for mixing.

shopping
shopping
shopping
shopping
 
DE is probably not going to get rid of mites, and it can be very dangerous to their breathing (not to mention yours.) Mites will require treating all chickens at least twice, 7 days apart to get the mites, and later, the newly hatched larvae.
Poultry Dust - dont breathe that either
if you have a cat ...poultry dust is toxic to them
DE is not always effective ..esp with a infestation
YES...The mites are still on the chickens .
You can also use cat shampoo diluted ..
Spray under their tail and all around their vent
and lift the feathers on their necks and spray there .
spray roosts too
Good Luck
 
I cannot count the number of posts over the years from people who tried DE and/or garlic thinking it was great for external and internal parasites. DE and garlic do NOT deworm or kill mites. DE can be a deterrent to fleas and mites but I never trust it to keep them parasite-free. You don't have to use dust, but you should clean your coop, pull out all bedding, spray with permethrin everywhere, including and especially the corners. You can spray your birds too, or use poultry dust on them. I'll take a mix of dust and poultry dust and put it in their favorite bath spot every couple of weeks. And yes, you'll need to do it again in 7 days. I'd prefer all-natural too but if you think about it...the way we raise chickens isn't exactly natural anyway, right? So we have to pick up the loose ends since they can't move to a new roosting area if theirs gets infested with parasites.
 
Thanks for the responses. It's kind of frustrating when you're trying to research solutions and every YouTube video and google post says use DE...but then you guys say it's not helpful.

So I already cleaned the whole coop, sprayed it all down and added new bedding and tons of DE.

Would I be OK just to go get some Permethrin 10% and spray it all around? Or would I have to re-clean everything and start from scratch?

Thanks
 
I'd re-clean and then spray with Permethrin, then re-bed it. As for the DE thing...I remember when it was Windex that was great for everything! DE is the new Windex LOL. Not your fault folks buy into that. I belong to a couple Facebook equine groups and I am constantly amazed at how people feed DE to their horses thinking it's a good dewormer. The only time I've ever read it helps is when I look at a site that sells the stuff. Once you research how it works, it's easy to understand how ineffective it is for deworming. Don't get me wrong.. I sprinkle it around the dog yard to help with fleas (I also put a flea and tick drop on their backs). Dusting some around the perimeter of the coop and house can help deter critters with an exoskeleton. Some thing it kills fire ants. It doesn't. It just "bugs" them so they move the nest a few yards away.:plbb
 
Well I'm off to the farm store then, thanks guys.

Side note, does the comb on that chicken I posted at the top look normal? Just noticed a small black lump on her left foot. Looks like a wart or something, its hard and the size of a pencil eraser. I'll try to get more pics today or tomorrow.
 

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