emergency tonight in Australia!

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ozzychick

ozzychick

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Hi all. Just discovered this site and forum looking to help one of our hens. Bit of backstory....moved to rural property 6months ago and adopted the 7resident hens...isa browns I think. Love them to bits but not all that knowledgeable yey...keep thinking I'll read up on stuff but haven't got around to it yet with new home and two young kids. Anyway...been getting little bits of info from local people so I knew about eggbound hens. One of our ladies had been looking a bit strange last couple days..she's a shy one called Julia. Yesterday she was waddling a bit and I noticed her tgighs looking bulgier than the others. Still eating heaps so I thought maybe just overweight! Today was really stormy so my hubby went up let them out fed them etc. Went to shut them in for bed...only 6. We have one escapee on days we keep them in the run so went looking but couldn't find her...eventuality found the sick one under the coop in the dirt. They all hang out there when its hot in the day. Anyway. ...trying to keep it short haha!!- he came told me and I knew she wasn't well so he put others in one side of coop and then brought her into other side....two pens divided by wire. Then after I got babies to sleep and read all info here I went up and saw her right in nesting box head first. I just picked up entire thing and brought down to house to check her over. Now to problems. ...I have a sick hen but don't think eggbound. Took her gently out in warm bathroom after filled sink for a warm bath. Looked at her rear and feathers all missing and looks swollen. But couldn't feel any hard eggs around vent or just inside. Put her in water. So calm though usually wont be handled. Noticed under her tummy is bald and her abdomen is distended. Felt around while in water and felt tight and swollen but not hard and no lumpy bits.
Now second problem. ...as I was bathing her I started feeling things crawling in my hair and thrn noiced little brown mite things on my arms..obviously she has infestation and they were coming out of water and onto me. So cut bath short. Wrapped her in towel nd and put her in clean box. Then showered myself scrubbing hsir twice eith shampoo then condioner combed then tea tree essential oil as for headlice then rinsed. Sitting here writing this on my phone breastfeeding my baby who woke and can still feel them wriggling in my hair!!!
So now I need help. ..are swollen belly symptoms because of mites or is she eggbound and mite separate issue. How do I treat both? Can get mitw treatment tomorrow for entire flock and clean out coop etc. Call vet ASAP in morning but what righy now. Have sick hen wrapped in towel near heater in bathroom covered in mites.....phew and my thumbis exhausted! !! Worried about my Julia.
Please help....its midnight here btw.:-)
 
Welcome to BYC. It sounds as though she may have ascites, which can come from liver failure from egg yolk peritonitis or internal laying. It is a collecting of fluid in the abdomen. Is she still laying eggs? It also could be red and swollen from feather picking and the mites. Mites can kill, and it takes a lot of work to control them. Permethrin and Carbaryl (Sevin Dust in the US) are the main things we use to get rid of mites. The coop has to be cleaned out and litter burned or hauled away, nest boxes, roosts, wall and flooring must be sprayed or treated. The birds must be dusted every 7 days for a few times to get the mite eggs after they hatch. Here are some links to read about egg yolk peritonitis, ascites, and mite treatment:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/08/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification.html
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/526089/egg-yolk-peritonitis
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/853726/ascites-in-desperate-need-of-some-help-and-guidance
 
Thank you for replying! That sucks big time! We just got a new batch of hay in do you think it could have brought in the mites? Never haf a problem til know. Poor baby. ..will go and chrck her but she seems pretty sick..:-(
 
Hi Ozzy chick, from what you have described I would say your problem is the mites. Not sure what you have in oz but here in UK red mite is our worst offender. Her feathers missing will be from when she has been preening trying it rid her self of the mites. The mites make them very anaemic as they suck the blood from the bird. Which does make them poorly. I would suggest treating all your flock for mites as soon as possible. Mites can cause them to stop laying too. As to your coop, burn all bedding remove everything that can be removed power wash it out. You will see more mites emerging from nooks and crannys as the water disturbs them. Leave it to dry and then I use a mite kill spray. Leave that to dry too. Also power wash all perches they tend to love on the ends of them, power wash everything!!! When all dry liberally spread diatom earth powder on everything it is not harmfull to anything. A natural product. Even the underside of perches. Repeat diatom every 3 days for two weeks. Check coop on a regular basis. A dust bath is also good for all birds. Hope this helps good luck. Post how you get on.:fl
 
Thanks Yorkshire coop. Thats helpful but all sounds bloody awful! Just got new hay....could have brought mites in or maybe we've had them a while. They are small light brown like mini cockroaches. ...will look up mites. I hate using chemicals so thanks for tip of natural treatment. We try to live organic/chemical free. Guess we'll have to invest in a power hose but we're on rain water so its precious. I'm going to get vet out tomorrow. So far chook is still in her box wrapped in a towel so I'll have to unwrap her but don't want to handle her too much cos of mites but want to give her a cuddle poor love. If there's mites in my hair will they live and how do I get rid of them naturally?
Looked up ascites. Looks awful so hope to get diagnosis tomorrow.
Thanks byc.
 
Hello there and welcome to BYC!
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I am so sorry about your bird. I hope you can get a handle on things. It is never easy when they are not well.
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Thanks all for help. .it's so late here I fell asleep reading links!will post updates tomorrow...
 
Hi, I would make sure u wash all your clothes straight away that's what I did when I got mites on me. Take really good shower wash hair twice. I had no probs after that. Also about the diatom earth you can dust your birds in it too. It works by drying the mites up making them dehydrate and die.
 
I don't want to sound like I know all best, but DE probably won't do all a lot for a real mite infestation. DE can also be dangerous if inhaled. I think you need some chemicals. To test your hay or straw for mites, I have heard to drop a bale onto white paper or plastic to test if mites are in it. Make a good dust bathing area around your coop with dirt, sand and some wood ash so they can dust themselves often. Some even put in a little mite dust. A kiddie swimming pool or large pan works wells. Hopefully mites is the only problem, but I just wanted to point out that mites and egg laying problems can cause that same behavior.
 

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