Nicole_Hutchison
Songster
Need help on how to treat my chickens. I have two coops - one coop of Cochins and one coop of silkies. Both sets of chickens free range during the day, go into their separate coop at night…and I have never seen them together during the day. Below I will describe what is going on in each coop and hopefully someone has guidance for me!
In the silkie coop, there are about 4 roosters and 12 hens (yes I know this is not the right ratio but they have all been living together just fine). I also have 2 mama hens in the coop with the rest of the flock along with their 9 chicks, but in a separate area (dog crate) but again, in the same coop. One of my splash silkie hens that always seems to be sick (got her from a chicken farm) started sneezing, had foam coming out of her eyes and one of her eyes was completely shut. I removed her from the coop several weeks ago, treated her with Tylan injections for 3 days in quarantine and then on day 5 put her back with the rest of the flock. I now have almost every hen and roo sneezing, including 2 mamas hens that are with their 9 chicks. Some of the chickens are starting to look lethargic and puffing up their feathers with their heads down. I also noticed some of the chickens shaking their head randomly. Still all eating and drinking from what I can see and poop looks ok. Ages range from 8 months to 2 years old and the chicks in the dog crate with mama hens are about 3 1/2 weeks old. I also had a necked neck in with my silkies - a few days ago she did not look well (lethargic and puffy feathers) and the next day she died. I picked up my splash silkie hen today and she has foam in her eyes again (this is the hen I gave Tylan shots to previously) and noticed she had a little small cream colored bug crawling on her head by her eye!! Unsure if it is a mite, lice or louse. It was almost a cream color, super small (almost like a grain of rice) with 2 “things” coming out the front of its head (slightly longer than its legs) and about 4-6 legs total. I have tried to keep the coop as clean as possible (removing all poop, keeping it dry, adding new straw, etc) and treated all chickens with vitamins and electrolytes. Also tried to give them more healthy treats. This is not working.
In my other coop I have about 8 hens and 2 Cochin roos as well as a duck. I went out tonight to close the coop and notice the same little small cream colored bugs that were crawling on my silkie that were crawling all over the wood on the outside of the Cochins coop. I also heard one of the hens in the Cochin coop sneeze. I have not treated any of the Cochins because tonight was the first sign of an issue. They are all about 1 - 2 years old.
I don’t know if I need to focus on treating the sneezing which seems to be developing in to something worse (possible respiratory infection), focus on getting rid of the lice/mites/louse and maybe that is making the chickens sick or treat both! I tried to get a clear shot of the bugs crawling on the wood outside the Cochin coop attached. In the picture they almost look grey. Please let me know what to do next! I don’t want any more losses.
In the silkie coop, there are about 4 roosters and 12 hens (yes I know this is not the right ratio but they have all been living together just fine). I also have 2 mama hens in the coop with the rest of the flock along with their 9 chicks, but in a separate area (dog crate) but again, in the same coop. One of my splash silkie hens that always seems to be sick (got her from a chicken farm) started sneezing, had foam coming out of her eyes and one of her eyes was completely shut. I removed her from the coop several weeks ago, treated her with Tylan injections for 3 days in quarantine and then on day 5 put her back with the rest of the flock. I now have almost every hen and roo sneezing, including 2 mamas hens that are with their 9 chicks. Some of the chickens are starting to look lethargic and puffing up their feathers with their heads down. I also noticed some of the chickens shaking their head randomly. Still all eating and drinking from what I can see and poop looks ok. Ages range from 8 months to 2 years old and the chicks in the dog crate with mama hens are about 3 1/2 weeks old. I also had a necked neck in with my silkies - a few days ago she did not look well (lethargic and puffy feathers) and the next day she died. I picked up my splash silkie hen today and she has foam in her eyes again (this is the hen I gave Tylan shots to previously) and noticed she had a little small cream colored bug crawling on her head by her eye!! Unsure if it is a mite, lice or louse. It was almost a cream color, super small (almost like a grain of rice) with 2 “things” coming out the front of its head (slightly longer than its legs) and about 4-6 legs total. I have tried to keep the coop as clean as possible (removing all poop, keeping it dry, adding new straw, etc) and treated all chickens with vitamins and electrolytes. Also tried to give them more healthy treats. This is not working.
In my other coop I have about 8 hens and 2 Cochin roos as well as a duck. I went out tonight to close the coop and notice the same little small cream colored bugs that were crawling on my silkie that were crawling all over the wood on the outside of the Cochins coop. I also heard one of the hens in the Cochin coop sneeze. I have not treated any of the Cochins because tonight was the first sign of an issue. They are all about 1 - 2 years old.
I don’t know if I need to focus on treating the sneezing which seems to be developing in to something worse (possible respiratory infection), focus on getting rid of the lice/mites/louse and maybe that is making the chickens sick or treat both! I tried to get a clear shot of the bugs crawling on the wood outside the Cochin coop attached. In the picture they almost look grey. Please let me know what to do next! I don’t want any more losses.
