chickens Dying -Help

[marko15]

Last week I had a hen that just sat around with her head in the corner, and wouldn't move or anything, the next day I found her dead in the nesting box, then a couple of days later another chicken was acting the same way and couldn't stand up or walk , so I put her out of her misery, today I had another one that couln't walk , she could flap her wings but only when I picked her up. I know I have a small problem with lice but is this what is causing these symptoms, I'm afraid they might all die!!?

 

[dlhunicorn]

Lice can be deadly (especially if you are having hot weather to further stress them) and you can be sure you havent seen all of them ,,,be sure to to your coop and nesting boxes otherwise they will simply get reinfested. When was the last time you wormed your birds? This is the wormer many use as it will get most worms and quite a few of the lice on your birds too (will do nothing for the coop though).
http://www.shilala.com/ivomec.html

 

[CUDA]

You need to look for some other symptoms. Check the poo, grab a hold of them, and really check them out for anything out of the ordinary. Tell us what you find so your problem can be properly diagnosed. Thanks!

 

[marko15]

The one That had the problem this morning was fine when I put her to bed last night. This morning she looked fine except she couldn't move and her breastbone seemed to be protruding, she otherwise looked normal. I am not sure what to use to kill the Lice etc, everthing at my local feed store says it is toxic to animals etc, thanks for any help

 

[sammi]

describe the chickens' droppings..color and consistency..

what all are you feeding them?

what bedding do you use?

look for mite/lice treatment for poultry..such as Ectiban-D made by durvet..active ingrediant is permathrin..

did you check the link posted dlhunicorn?

 

[ninjapoodles]

Quote:
WOW, I'm a newbie, and I'm shocked at the dosage given on that Ivomec for chickens! We use cattle Ivomec on our dogs for heartworm control, and the dose is 1/10 of 1cc per 10 pounds of body weight for a dog! That's way less than what's given for chickens. Obviously it doesn't harm them, though. Wow. Learn something every day.

 

[English Chick]

So sorry to hear about your hens, it could be red spider mite infestation in your coop. Particularly bad in warm weather and as they only come out at night. They are tiny tiny parasites that feed off the hens blood, if infestation is bad it can kill the hen, have you treated all the wooden areas of the coop? particularly the perches. The mites live in all tiny crevices of the wood. I treat my coop every six to eight weeks, take every thing out spray it throughly including the nest boxes with product from my local farm store. The perches I treat every week by brushing on surgical spirit and letting them dry before I put them back. I also use "spot on" one drop on the hens neck every month to keep louse and ticks at bay. Have the hens lost weight?
Do they smell? Smell the nostril area, a healthy hen smells sweet. Good luck and hope everything works out for you.

 

[dlhunicorn]

It is important to follow the dosage regime... giving too little more often simply allows resistance to occur to the drug .
Yes the stuff used to treat the coops is toxic at that concentration to poultry and you need to ensure there is NO forgotten bit s of feed and such in there... totally remove everything from your coop, treat it and allow to ventilate dry out before allowing the birds back in there. DE is very helpful to managing mite and lice problems but when you have a bad infestation you need the hardcore stuff.