Chicken Pests?

[fluffyxx]

Hello all! I have tried to do a search on this and haven't came up with a definite answer. Also not sure if this is the correct area of the forum to post this, if not... please move it. c:

So, a while ago I noticed that a few of my birds were starting to loose some feathers. This has been a couple of months ago, at least. Now, I have some that have bald spots. Not all of them do. But, the ones that do... some have a bald patch right above their tail, this one also now has a bald bottom. I have a couple with balding necks & then some that have thinner feathers on their chests. I also have a few that have sort of "fluffed" feathers on their backs.

I don't notice any obvious digging. Nothing like overly digging. I have tried to check for lice eggs and the such. But, my chickens will not have any of that petting. They will hop up on my lap and I've tried to check, the ones I've seen.. I don't notice any lice eggs, at least not like the pictures I've seen of them.

When I've been into the coop, I seem to notice that I get little rashes on me sometimes, they are itchy. At first I thought it was just an allergy to their pine bedding. But, the other day I took them some treats down to the coop in a little plastic tupperware container, left outside on the ground while I done my routine in their coop. Came out & sat with them for a while. Then when I was heading back to the house, picked up the little container and set it on my arm. A few minutes later, I had these little bumps come up on my arm that were sort of itchy and red.


Today, when I went to the coop.. I took my feed bucket with me, I had left it setting in their coop while I sat and chatted with them. When I brought it inside, I noticed this little tan colored bug on the side. It was small. I don't know if I'm being paranoid or what. But, I'm trying to figure out what is going on here with my girls.


I took some pictures of them a while ago, I'll have to find my camera and pull them up again. If they aren't clear I'll try to snag some more. My chickens don't seem to like being models and run away when I try to snap a pic.





Also, on a side note - I have this one chicken.. I've noticed it twice doing this. While I'm outside with them, it goes off by itself and goes into a trance. After a few minutes of squatting, it'll lay an egg. But, it lays it outside. Even though it has access to the nest boxes inside. Is this normal? Or should I be checking on her to see if she has something going on?

 

[Judy]

It actually sounds like they are molting. The hen that lays an egg off by herself could be thinking about collecting a clutch of them and trying to hatch them (they will do this even with no rooster resent.) Or she could just want to lay somewhere different. They do that I find most of my eggs in the nest, but now and then I'll find one on the coop floor or even out in the yard. For a while, at least one was laying in the yard and collecting them, til we found and removed the nest. We freshened up the nests and they went back to using them, for whatever reason.

Here are just a couple of many documents on here aobout molting:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/molting-your-flocks-seasonal-shedding

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/580915/for-the-new-folks-that-havent-experienced-a-molt-yet/0_20

Here is a link to help you determine whether they might have lice/mites, shich wil eventually cause feather loss, and what to do about it:

http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0018.html

 

[fluffyxx]

So, I finally got pictures off my camera. I'll post those on here, they aren't very clear though. I may try and get some better ones. But, my chickens apparently don't like getting their picture taken. They kept jumping up at me while I was trying. Hah. Anyways.


The last few days when I've went down there, I have noticed a small brown bug that will get on me after getting their eggs out of their nests. Last night I took a flashlight down there and there are all kinds of little brownish colored bugs running around. We have a little walkway in front of their nest boxes, and this is where all of those bugs seemed to be. It wasn't covered up. But, there were quite a few. They are tiiiiny. But, not so tiny that you can't see them. They are a tan or very light brown color and they move pretty fast. From my searches it seems to say that it could be lice. But, most documents I've came across say that lice live only on their host. I have tried looking on the chickens. But, as soon as I get down past all their feathers to their skin to check them, they get tired of being bothered and want down or run away. Blehhh.

I'm really at a loss. I really wanna help my ladies out.

 

[fluffyxx]

So, a better question would be.

Can I just go ahead and treat my coop & yard with the sevin dust & the sevin spray? Even though I'm not entirely sure what these little creatures are.

 

[dawg53]

You are dealing with lice. Use sevin dust to dust ALL your birds, avoid eyes and nostrils. Dust the inside of ther coop includng nests and roosts. Repeat dusting your birds in 10 days as well as inside the coop. Forget treating your yard.