Constant illness and bugs

[TinyRaptorDodos]

I’m seriously thinking about getting rid of my chickens but the thought is heartbreaking.

They’ve had lice three time since spring, they’ve been through coccidia or whatever it was called and it killed about four or five of my chickens. This happens yearly and it’s not stopping. It’s just constant new illnesses and bugs and I can’t keep dealing with it, the treatments are too expensive here.
What do I do? How does everyone have such healthy all the time flocks? My birds are very healthy with beautiful egg yolks and vibrant feathers and faces but then randomly they’ll get a new illness that kills multiple. I just lost my newest hen who I’ve had for about a month yesterday to a hawk. I know I choose a couple deaths throughout the year (free ranging) over all at once (runs, I live in a bear state) but this is a bit much.

Should I just give up with chickens?

 

[Lillith37]

I’m sorry you’ve had such a rough time of it I’m sure you don’t have to give up just yet, maybe we can help you.

What is their coop like? When you treated them for lice, what did you use? Did you treat every bird and also the coop?

Worms and coccidiosis can be a problem after heavy rainfall when the ground is wet. It’s good to keep an eye on droppings during these times and if there are any abnormal droppings consider worming/treating for coccidiosis.

What do you feed them? Do they have access to grit?

 

[TinyRaptorDodos]

I’m sorry you’ve had such a rough time of it I’m sure you don’t have to give up just yet, maybe we can help you.

What is their coop like? When you treated them for lice, what did you use? Did you treat every bird and also the coop?

Worms and coccidiosis can be a problem after heavy rainfall when the ground is wet. It’s good to keep an eye on droppings during these times and if there are any abnormal droppings consider worming/treating for coccidiosis.

What do you feed them? Do they have access to grit?

My coop is small but clean and ventilated. They free range so they don’t have a run and no one around us uses weed killer or pesticides or anything like that.

I’ve been using a permethrin spray thing but I’m trying elector psp this time, I think I need to burn all the straw in my barn.

I treated and cleared coccidia thankfully but it took awhile to figure out what it was and by then it killed my 40$ Cemani chick, a bantam chick and my Barred lavender who just recovered from wryneck. My Mille fleur d’Uccle mix is still recovering her strength from it im sure the bugs aren’t helping

They have a locally made feed with grit and oyster shells (the local feed is the only feed we haven’t had issues with so far) and they get the rest of their nutrients foraging

 

[Lillith37]

The permethrin spray should work for the lice. You need to spray each bird under their wings, behind their neck, on the underbelly and under the vent.

You will need to repeat the treatment as well as clean out the entire coop, burn the bedding, spray the coop structure with permethrin and replace with new fresh bedding.

Do they have parts of their free ranging area where they can dust bathe?

What percentage protein is the feed you give them? Is the grit and oyster shell offered separately?

 

[TinyRaptorDodos]

The permethrin spray should work for the lice. You need to spray each bird under their wings, behind their neck, on the underbelly and under the vent.

You will need to repeat the treatment as well as clean out the entire coop, burn the bedding, spray the coop structure with permethrin and replace with new fresh bedding.

Do they have parts of their free ranging area where they can dust bathe?

What percentage protein is the feed you give them? Is the grit and oyster shell offered separately?

I was told the spray was no good, that is how I used it and it worked but then it came back .

They do have a few popular dust bathing areas but they’ve made a lot. The barn and tree line are the favorite spots

I’m not sure on the feed honestly they put too many words on the bag (I’m dyslexic and tend to skip over words) all I know is it is corn and soy free layer pellets. I combine their grit and oyster shells in the feeder but they usually eat around them

 

[Lillith37]

So usually a layer feed has the minimum amount of protein needed for laying hens. It’s usually around 16%. Chickens can be healthier on a higher protein diet. I feed mine a mix of layer 16% and grower 18% or starter 22% to boost their protein.

Do you give them any treats or snacks?

It would be best if you provide their feed in their feeder, then give them a separate dish for the oyster shell and a separate dish for the grit. That way they can pick what they need a little easier and you can see how much they are eating.

Do you have a lot of wild birds or creatures around where you live? They will bring the lice back in unfortunately.

Chickens usually have issues with lice when there is some other factor that is either causing them stress or impacting their health. What is the weather like where you are? Has it been hot, cold, changeable?

Have you added or removed birds recently? Have you noticed any other issues e.g. bullying/pecking, feather loss, crops not emptying overnight, abnormal droppings, sneezing or coughing, dripping noses?

 

[TinyRaptorDodos]

So usually a layer feed has the minimum amount of protein needed for laying hens. It’s usually around 16%. Chickens can be healthier on a higher protein diet. I feed mine a mix of layer 16% and grower 18% or starter 22% to boost their protein.

Do you give them any treats or snacks?

It would be best if you provide their feed in their feeder, then give them a separate dish for the oyster shell and a separate dish for the grit. That way they can pick what they need a little easier and you can see how much they are eating.

Do you have a lot of wild birds or creatures around where you live? They will bring the lice back in unfortunately.

Chickens usually have issues with lice when there is some other factor that is either causing them stress or impacting their health. What is the weather like where you are? Has it been hot, cold, changeable?

Have you added or removed birds recently? Have you noticed any other issues e.g. bullying/pecking, feather loss, crops not emptying overnight, abnormal droppings, sneezing or coughing, dripping noses?

They get safe kitchen scraps and mealworms daily, their yolks can get to be a beautiful dark orange in the summer.

I’ll find some old feeders and separate them once the current feeder empties

We have magpies and ravens that hang around and talk to my chickens, some robins hop around the yard and the barn is infested with mice

It’s been cooling off… highest we got this year was 60s right now it’s around the 50/40s

My flock doesn’t bully thankfully, I get rid of them when they do. I haven’t gotten rid of any recently but I did bring a couple new ones in, they usually don’t care and I do health inspections before they come in (the new ones are some of the healthiest in my flock currently, the ones with lice are my oldest chickens)
I have one hen with crop stasis but she has a bra other than that I haven’t noticed any other health issues other then lethargy with one of my chicks. Sneezing only happens with my silkie when she drinks water and that’s just been her thing since she hatched, she sneezes when she drinks water. I’ve never thought of it as a health issue but maybe it is..? She’s a year old now
Feather loss is happening due to the lice outbreak, I thought it was just molting until today. Everyone is still eating and drinking, moving around as they usually do and sun/dust bathing

 

[TinyRaptorDodos]

Oh and water is an issue. That’s another thing I need help with.

They have an open rubber-y bowl because the normal chicken waterers get gunked up and freeze too much but it’s really hard to keep the open bowl clean. They get fresh water daily but their bowl still grows algae and such and it’s too much time to clean it every couple days it’s a lot harder to clean then it sounds

 

[Lillith37]

Try not to give too many scraps and treats, especially if they are free ranging as well. Do they live in the barn? Is your coop near the barn? The mice might be stressing them out.

Some people use waterers that have a nipple attachment so the chicken can drink directly and the water does not get gunked up. I’m not sure about the water freezing though, you’d need to heat it or have it somewhere warmer. It doesn’t get that cold where I live so it’s not an issue I’m familiar with.

 

[casportpony]

Oh and water is an issue. That’s another thing I need help with.

Try these

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/fortiflex-low-feeder-pan-3-gal-capacity-black
Super easy to kep clean,