Coop full of problems! Disease, lice, picking, egg eating. HELP!

[Sjisty]

Quote:
I use 6 drops for my grown chickens and 4 for for my younger/smaller guys. I have two seramas and use 3 drops on them. The bottle says non-withdrawal formula. Of course, it isn't made for chickens, but we have eaten the eggs with no problems.

 

[dmdhart]

I had a TERRIBLE time with lice and mites, and for a while thought I would never get rid of them. I dusted and cleaned, to no avail. I finally at a friends suggestion, mixed ivermectin paste horse wormer in with some canned dog food and the chickens wolfed it down. It IMMEDIATELY got rid of the lice and mites. I repeated it every 3 weeks for 3 months and have not seen anything since then!

 

[akcountrygrrl]

I've read the entire thread and I feel your pain. I typically treat my birds twice a year and keep DE in their dusting boxes year round. I treat my birds by dipping them in flea/tick dip. I use a large rubbermaid storage tote filled about 1/2 -2/3 full with a warm dip mix (I adjust the recommended mix a bit to make it a bit lighter than what you would use for kittens or puppies). I submerge the bird to just below the head being mindful to keep the ears out of the mix. While holding the bird in the mix, I take my finger and carefully spread the dip up onto the head, over the comb, and around the eyes but do my best not to get it in the eyes. I towel the bird off a bit and then, depending on the weather, I put it in a cage under a heat lamp or out in the sun. For really cold temps (and we do get them up here

), I'll even use a hair dryer on the birds.

Since my daughter and I do show birds, I treat twice a year because you never know what's in the cage next to you at the show or what the wild birds will bring in with them. Additionally, you never know what visitors or even your own family are bringing in on their clothes and shoes. Biosecurity goes much further than only getting chickens from eggs you've hatched or day old chicks from a hatchery. It's also about limiting what and who your animals are exposed to. The fact of the matter is, unless the birds are locked in their run, other wild birds can't get in/near the run, visitors aren't allowed in/near the run, and you wear sanitized rubber boots and coveralls every time you enter the run, you can have recurring issues. It's a part of raising animals. While it makes things challenging, those challenges also shake things up and give you a strong sense of accomplishment when you overcome them.

Don't give up. There's been a lot of good advice given on this thread. Now, it's up to you to find the best routine that works for you. Good luck.

 

[trilyn]

Quote:
That sounds like a good way to worm in general also. Exactly how much wormer did you use? A whole tube? I've got horses also, so I've always got some ivermectin laying around. Thanks in advance...Trish Oh...how long did you toss the eggs, or did you?

 

[welasharon]

I used seven dust as the first treatment on mine and then for the second seven to ten day treatment I went with ivomec pour on because it seemed much easier. I still ate the eggs. I just got two new six week old silkies and they had lice and mites. I decided to just use seven on them and the mites and lice were dying within seconds. I used it again the second time but didn't see any so I am happy with that.
sharon

 

[dmdhart]

Quote:
That sounds like a good way to worm in general also. Exactly how much wormer did you use? A whole tube? I've got horses also, so I've always got some ivermectin laying around. Thanks in advance...Trish Oh...how long did you toss the eggs, or did you?

I use about 1/2 a tube mixed in a can of dog food for 20 chickens. I then just scramble the eggs for a few days and feed those back to the chickens or my dogs.

 

[pnp4kidz]

Not saying I know anything, but I'm a Nurse Practitioner for kids (pediatric) and just saying, but we sometimes give ivermectin to kids... for scabies or lice severe infestations.
so, I can't imagine in my wildest imagination that the teeny amount that might get thru the chicken, and into her egg, and then make it thru cooking... would affect a human...
you are talking about a dose appropriate to treat about 4 lb of animal, then diluted to just what got into ONE or two eggs... and then ingested by a 150 lb person... just not going to be enough to write home about...
that is 'my' guess anyway....

This thread is interesting me, as my roo's get 'scabs' sometimes on their combs, and one bird I had I could see what looked like sand on his tail feathers near the skin... now I'm creeping out thinking I have bugs!!! They never got treated, and it's been years! the combs still sometimes get scabs on them but I thought it was the hen pecking him... so... should I start treating?

If I'm right, the ivermectin will treat internal parasites too, so I think I'll just go ahead and do that, seems easy enough...
but the fungus on the comb possibility.... should I explore or is it remote...?

 

[alaskafarmgirl]

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I know this is an older post -- how are your hens doing? I have experienced problems when I put different flocks together, or add or subtract a chicken. It disrupts the pecking order, and the hens tend to cluster with their old friends -- I've never gotten a truly "integrated" flock when they haven't all been raised together since hatching. I no longer introduce new hens to an established group. If need be, I'll pass a flock on to someone else, complete with a list of issues, and start over with a new flock. In our climate, I go for red or black sex links or barred rocks. They're friendly, good producers, and don't need a lot of heat in the winter in Southeast Alaska.

 

[mmranch]

PLEASE HELP!!!!!!

I HAVE A LIGHT COLORED POLISH ROOSTER THAT I BELIEVE WAS INFESTED WITH LICE WHEN WE ACQUIRED HIM, WHEN WE FINALLY REALIZED WHAT HE HAD (BECAUSE WE WERE NEW TO CHICKENS) WE DUSTED EVERYONE SEVERAL TIMES AND FINALLY CLEARED IT UP, BUT..... JUST FOUND OUT HE HAS IT VERY, VERY BAD AGAIN AND HAS SINCE PASSED IT ON TO A FEW OF OUR HENS. JUST GOT DONE TREATING EVERYONE IN THE FLOCK AGAIN FOR THE SECOND DAY IN A ROW, BUT AM REALLY WONDERING IF IT WILL EVER TRULY LEAVE THIS ROOSTER. DO SOME OF THEM NEVER REALLY GET RID OF IT COMPLETELY OR WILL HE JUST BE THAT SUCCEPTABLE TO IT??? VERY FRUSTRATING.... WE KEEP OUR COOP VERY CLEAN AND THEY FREE RANGE DAILY.... ANY SUGGESTIONS WILL GREATLY BE APPRECIATED. AM BEGINNING TO THINK THAT MAYBE THIS ROOSTER NEEDS TO FIND A NEW HOME.

 

[gckiddhouse]

Well, go back and read this thread for all the suggestions, but I will tell you that we still have the lice. We have gotten rid of them several times, but once they have them, it only takes one egg to hatch and start the whole problem over again.
Here is what I have learned:
Lice (vs mites) spend their entire life cycle on the bird, so they really aren't living in the coop, but on the birds.
If one has it, they ALL have it. It will not help, at this point, to rehome your rooster. The damage is done
When you treat the lice with powder, you will kill the ones that are crawling on the bird, but you are doing NOTHING to the eggs. They will hatch...
We have resorted to systemic chemicals and still have them.
They are biting your chickens and will weaken them. We have lost one chicken to them. She had them the worst.

Our policy is NEVER to bring an adult bird into our flock ever again. Good luck fighting the lice.