Hello , I am a first time chicken owner and I am having a few problems I would like to see if somebody could help me with . I lost one of my girls yesterday She had a big bald area around her vent and red raw looking she also had a long worm looking thing with a lot of discharge and blood coming out of her vent when she was dying., now I noticed another one of them has a balding area starting on her and red raw looking . My chickens have been picking at there self like they have something crawling on them I guess kinda like a dog with fleas . My first thought they may have mites or lice . I was told to wash my coop , perches , etc with white vinagar , warm water and a dash of dish soap also spray my coop with white vinegar and water as well , and spray the birds with this solution as well , my problem is I don't know how much white vinegar to how much water ratio I don't want to use to much and burn the girls or something bad go wrong. If someone could please help me out on this matter I would be very grateful . I keep my coop and run clean and I also give them 1 teaspoon of garlic and 1teaspoon of acv in every water change to try to help them. I feel very bad like i am not doing something right and I definitely do not want to lose anymore of my girls Thank you in advance for any good advice you may give me . Happy chicken farming
Sorry to hear you lost one of your girls It does sound like a lice/mite problem. I'm afraid these can really drain your birds and make them quite sick. Have a read of this article ~ https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/mites-lice-treatment-and-prevention I'm afraid I've never treated my birds with the vinegar solution as I've always dusted mine with louse powder. I'm sure someone will be along who can offer you some advice on this. Good luck
After reading other posts, it seems your chick has worms (parasites) could be coccidiosis, and can possibly be treated with with a solution called Corid is mixed 9.55 cc per gallon. On the flip side, I must tell everyone of my knowledge as of today. I Rhode Island hen (is the second one in a year) came up with these symptoms: 5 days ago was noticeably lethargic, puffed up, tail down, and within days had a hard time walking, would lose her balance, and in the last 2 days her toes were "curled" (roosting form). Visually she looked healthy as far as beautiful feathers and the color of her cone and waddle, etc., and she would eat and drink. Her symptoms seem to match parasites, so I treated with Corid, and I saw no changes, so I took her to Rollins diagnostic lab (I am near Raleigh, NC, {NC State} I am blessed) they humanely euthanize d her and autopsied and the results are ovarian cancer. I was told this is a common diagnosis for hens 2-1/2 years to 3 years and older. Chickens with the above symptoms whose waddle, cone, feet/legs, (the non feathered areas) that turn dark blue/purple is a good chance they have the bird flu (I spoke with the technician for awhile as I had one last year with these symptoms and did not think to bring that one to diagnostic lab), and he said most likely she was very sick. I had her isolated from my other birds, so everybody else was good. Hopefully this might help some other people with their feathered pets
