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

[dawg53]

When you dust a bird for lice or mites, you should redust 10 days later to kill the nits that have hatched since the first dusting. This will break their lifecycle. For severe infestations, a third dusting may be required. Keep in mind, at the same time you're dusting your birds...the inside of their coop needs to be dusted including nests...then when you go to redust your birds in 10 days, redust the inside of their house as well. Repeat as necessary. Here's a link with expert advice:
http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0018.html

 

[gckiddhouse]

Quote:
Hi and thanks for your response. I am wondering if you have actually experienced this and gotten rid of the lice this way. Last fall, we dusted the whole coop and all the birds, beds, roosts and surrounding area every 10 days for 3 months. We thought they were all gone. The chickens even went through a molt during this period which we though would be so helpful since they were losing the feathers that had the eggs on them. We also raked out the lost feathers every week. We were so diligent!! But, by Christmas, they were back. So, then we gave them horse wormer with the big chemical in them. It killed the lice, but you have to do it every 3 weeks. We did do it 3 times. The lice came back.

We are at a loss.

 

[JulieNKC]

Are wild birds able to mingle with your flock? Wild birds usually have mites/lice/etc, so if they are around your birds they will transmit them.

 

[gckiddhouse]

Quote:
Yes, we have wild birds in the yard, but who doesn't? I mean really! Doesn't everyone have birds in their yard? They don't sleep in the coop with the chooks, they just share the yard. Sit in the trees, fly through, and walk around the yard just like the chickens. There is nothing I can do about the wild birds.

 

[JulieNKC]

Quote:
Yes, we have wild birds in the yard, but who doesn't? I mean really! Doesn't everyone have birds in their yard? They don't sleep in the coop with the chooks, they just share the yard. Sit in the trees, fly through, and walk around the yard just like the chickens. There is nothing I can do about the wild birds.

I picked up a baby robin I found in our driveway once, it was so covered in mites they were almost covering it's nostrils. I think if birds free range, there's really nothing you can do but to treat them periodically.

 

[RoseMarie1]

Wow, thanks all for the great advice. DD and I dusted all 19 chooks tonight after dark. That is a job that Mike Rowe may be interested in trying!! YUK!!!

I wanted to clarrify a few things in response to the advice:

Mom'sfolly and daniLoves: I am looking into this Ivomectin stuff. Sounds promising. I am normally pretty serious about only using natural and non-chemical stuff around the chickens and garden. That is why I used Perytherin, the natural version. Guess I will have to let my guard down to get rid of this stuff. "Pulling out the big guns" seems like what I need to do. Where would I go about getting Ivermectin?

Tyranno: based on your description and the one that I saw online, it is lice. That is better than mites, right? The other chickens are not picking at the Polish crests, they are picking at their backs in front of their tails, just as they would any other hen. I have had the picking before, and have put saddles on them. Unfortunately my saddles are way too big for the little Polish girls.
Our bedding is ALWAYS dry. We live in Phoenix, so moisture isn't a problem here. Also, we dug out every bit of old bedding - down to the original hard dirt both inside the coop and around the coop. I have used the antibiotic you mentioned. I have been putting it in their water, but the infection is lingering (or maybe it is just the mites). They have an auto waterer, so I have only put it in there every couple of days. Perhaps I need to start with fresh antibiotic every day? There is no sign of leg mites, but your advice is probably good. Prevention!

What is Adams dip??

We are so sad that the egg eater is one of our favorite hens.

Cetawin: thanks for all the specifics! Got some Orange Guard at Ace tonight. Will spray tomorrow. So you say to use the Ivermectin twice. Should I also continue to dust every week as planned?

I can't remember, now, when the respiratory thing started. And, no, the Polish don't seem to have the symptoms. I really hate the idea of taking a chicken to the vet. I wasn't planning to do that. I will consider calling the vet that SonoranSilkies suggested. I just don't know about that. I might rather just cull

As I said above, the chickens are pecking at the Polishs' backs, not so much their crests. I watched the roosters just pluck the feathers and eat them. I guess they have had a reduction in protein since I have put them on a layer pellet. I could go back to the grower. I will just feed their eggs back to them and give them some protein. I don't supplement calcium because our water is so hard. You practically need a hammer to get into the eggs. So, no need. I will increase protein, but i have to say that when I had a picking problem before, that didn't work.

I am going to keep doing the tea tree oil/coconut oil on the raw skin as it did seem to help a little. I tried blukote, but she still looks like she is really itchy.

Sonoran: The thought of microscopic mites has me really wigged out!! How would I know?? flea/tick shampoo?? Oh my! Again, the chemicals have me really freaked out. Are there any natural treatments that would be as effective?

We have always used wood chips until this past 3 months or so, I tried TerrAmigo (sawdust pellets). We just took up about 2 inches of packed TerrAmigo that was gross. We won't be using that anymore. It also got in my landscaping much worse than the chips. I did get some cedar chips to mix in. We are just leaving the dirt floor right now, but will get the new bedding in after we have satisfactorily treated the ground. In the mean time, the chooks are digging up the hard dirt and mixing in DE and poultry dust as they dust bathe.

I don't think I will drive all the way to Gilbert to see a vet. That would be like you driving to Tucson. Do you think he would just give advice over the phone?

I did try blukote on one of the Polish and it didn't seem to help, so not fungal?

I wouldn't have the first clue how to clip a chicken's beak. Will it grow back?

thanks again everyone. Any further, follow up advice is appreciated.

blow an egg out of it's shell and put in mustard and tape up the tiny hole. put it back in there and let her eat it. They say it will stop the egg eating.