Dirty butts! and Bare Skin!

[juice]

Hello, I have two ? the what do you do whentheir bottoms are dirty? Do you cut away feathers on the bottoms to keep it from happening? I mean they don't like water so what to do?
Also, I have a hen who lost lots of feathers to a fight 6 months ago.
Though the hens have settled their differences she has not grown them back yet. It's just skin there.
Is this a reason to not put her into the culling when it's time? Or should I assume she is disseased? thanks

 

[LynneP]

Do you have a photo you can share?
How old are they, what are the breeds, and please describe your setup and their diet.
That bare hen should be refeathered by now.

Any signs of lice or mites?
What have you done to treat these birds?
Do you know how to give a shallow belly bath?

 

[saladin]

Without seeing pictures, I would venture to guess that what you are calling 'dirty butts' is most like lice or mites. If indeed it is dried crap then you have either a worm problem or a feed problem.

Take one in hand, turn her over and pull back the feathers around the vent area, see if you see small bugs crawling on the skin; if so, then you need to dust them. If not, refer back to my last comment in the first paragraph.

 

[juice]

what would I use to 'dust' them if that's what it is??? Thank you.

 

[saladin]

Sevin dust will work just fine.

 

[juice]

the same sevin dust for veggie plants???? thanks.

 

[judyc]

Go to your local farm supply store and buy a bottle of cattle ivemectrin.

Catch up your birds and administer 1 drop in each mouth. I use a syringe and needle to draw it out of the bottle, then just the syringe to drop it into the mouth.

That will take care of lice and worms. They will re-grow those feathers, and look really nice. The feed consumption will drop also.

Why feed worms and lice?

Then, get some malathion, and spray the inside of the coop. That will take care of the lice that hide in the cracks and crannies.

You will have happier chickens!

 

[trueblueshowgirl]

Hi Judyc- I understood that with an antibiotic treatment you need to administer for 8 days to prevent recurrance and resisitance. No?

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

trueblueshowgirl--Ivermectin is not an antibiotic, so no worries about breeding resistant bacteria.

However, THANK YOU for your caution--I was a medical microbiology major in school, and shortened courses of antibiotics make me cringe!

Finally, as a disclaimer, I don't have any first- second- or even third-hand information about whether the Ivermectin is a good idea. Sounds good, though. I *would* look at the bottle and not eat the eggs for the amount of days listed for milk and/or meat withdrawal times on the bottle.

 

[trueblueshowgirl]

Oh, right- I see. Thanks for explaining.