HELP! Sick Rooster (two dead!)

[TheChickenFanatic]

Do the hens and roosters share the same tractor?
Lice are unlikely to kill a rooster given the commonest chicken lice eat dander bascally. They are irritating because they move around, not because they bite.
Mites again would need a major infestation which you would notice on the dead roosters as you would with lice.
You write you saw a few mites. Have you checked the others for mites?
Northern fowl mites can kill a chicken but the process is slow apparently and the keepr would notice, or should notice long before the chicken drops dead.
My view is you need to be looking for something that only your roosters do. It could be a place, a feeder, a plant they eat that the hens dont for examples if the hens are fine.

Yes, they all are in the same chicken tractor.

I checked for lice, and treated everyone.

 

[TheChickenFanatic]

Can you post photos of the housing, inside and out?
They are all in a tractor, do they come out for sunshine/to roam around?

I agree, I'd look at what the roosters may be consuming, if this is only affecting them.

The current one seems to have been in a fight with the others. Even with 40hens, some roosters can be quite territorial. Could the others have been injured from fighting or perhaps became weak by being kept from food/water.

You are seeing Mites instead of lice correct? I'd make sure to dust the sick one very well with a Permethrin based poultry dust. It would be wise to treat all the birds too.
If you are dealing with Mites, then the housing needs to be treated, this is important since the Mites can infest the housing and even if you are able to kill what you find on the birds, the birds will quickly become reinfested unless the Mites are eliminated from the coop/housing.
A permethrin based spray is usually easy to source. For large areas like housing, I'd buy the concentrate, then mix in a sprayer according to directions on the label. Spray housing in 5-7day intervals for several weeks to begin eradicating the Mites. Be sure to get into nooks/crannies of the housing, the nesting boxes, roosting bars, etc. Mites can be hard to get rid of, so you may find you need to treat the housing often.

I'll try to get some pics tomorrow.

Yes, they are free-roaming chickens. They have numerous acres to roam.

They could have gotten into a fight. I did notice some blood on my rooster's comb. It has scarred over now.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Here's the silkie hen. This was the best pic I got of her. It was raining today and cold, and she was shaking, so I put her in a separate coop with a heat lamp.

And here's the rooster. I felt his crop and it feels mostly empty (but he just ate), and it kind of felt squishy and doughy.

Yes, they all are in the same chicken tractor.

I checked for lice, and treated everyone.

It does looks like the rooster may have gotten into a fight. Check his crop in the morning before he eats/drinks and let us know what it feels like.

The poor little hen. I'd try to get drops of sugar water into her. Do check her for bugs again, just to be sure that is not the problem.
It does look like she's in a bad way and may not make it. It's good that you have supplied some extra warmth for her.

You treated all the birds for Mites(?) Lice(?) what did you use?

Can you get your Dad or a parent to help you with the sick/not well ones and give them a check up?

 

[TheChickenFanatic]

It does looks like the rooster may have gotten into a fight. Check his crop in the morning before he eats/drinks and let us know what it feels like.

The poor little hen. I'd try to get drops of sugar water into her. Do check her for bugs again, just to be sure that is not the problem.
It does look like she's in a bad way and may not make it. It's good that you have supplied some extra warmth for her.

You treated all the birds for Mites(?) Lice(?) what did you use?

Can you get your Dad or a parent to help you with the sick/not well ones and give them a check up?

Will do!

I know, poor girl. I feel so bad. I will check her again for bugs.

Yes, I treated all my chickens for bugs (btw: what's the difference between mites and lice? how do I know which I'm dealing with?). I couldn't find the product you recommended, so I just bought some food-grade diatomaceous earth, and dusted them all with that.

My parents know nothing about chickens, so I'm kind of on my own here, unfortunately.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Will do!

I know, poor girl. I feel so bad. I will check her again for bugs.

Yes, I treated all my chickens for bugs (btw: what's the difference between mites and lice? how do I know which I'm dealing with?). I couldn't find the product you recommended, so I just bought some food-grade diatomaceous earth, and dusted them all with that.

My parents know nothing about chickens, so I'm kind of on my own here, unfortunately.

Mites have 8 legs and often live in the coop/housing coming out to feed at night. They feed on blood, so can cause anemia and weaken the bird. Make them sick.
At night, you can run a paper towel along roosting bars, see if it come clean or you have bugs or little bloody spots on the towel. This will help you know if you need to treat your coop asap.

Lice have 6 legs and for the most part live on the bird. They are a little bit larger than Mites and you can usually find them if you look through the feathers, especially around the vent, under the wings and on Silkies, top of the head (for some reason).

DE may help a little, but when you can, try to get a Permethrin based poultry dust to dust all the birds. This time of year, TSC should have it, you may have to look in the horse section, where the Fly/Pest spray is.

The concentrate will last a long time and make many gallons of spray. Since it's cold/winter, you would not want to spray the birds, so dusting is usually best for winter.
I'd mix up the concentrate, then spray the coop on a day that is sort of sunny. Focus on roosting areas getting the spray in the joints/nooks crannies and in the nesting boxes.

The powder, put the powder in an old sock, the shaker can is terrible. Use the sock like a powder puff and "powder/dust" the birds, getting under the vent, wings, etc. Work the dust all the way down through the feathers to the skin. Store the sock in a jar with a lid, that's what I do. Be sure to label your jar so you know what it is. The powder will last a long time if kept dry and in a jar.

 

[TheChickenFanatic]

Another update: Rooster is doing much better. He's moving around and eating and drinking. I'm still going to continue treating him of course.

My hen made it through the night! She also seems to be doing better. Her eyes are open and look alert. She still isn't moving that much. I am still treating her as well.

Also, I inspected my coop, and I think we're dealing with lice, not mites. I didn't see any mites on the rooster bars, walls, or nesting boxes. I will get that powder you were talking about today.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Another update: Rooster is doing much better. He's moving around and eating and drinking. I'm still going to continue treating him of course.

My hen made it through the night! She also seems to be doing better. Her eyes are open and look alert. She still isn't moving that much. I am still treating her as well.

Also, I inspected my coop, and I think we're dealing with lice, not mites. I didn't see any mites on the rooster bars, walls, or nesting boxes. I will get that powder you were talking about today.

I'm glad he's doing a lot better and that she made it through the night.

Good job on continuing treating both. Do the best you can. Work on getting the little hen hydrated and see if she will eat a little wet mushy feed. Little bits of cooked egg, fish (like sardines, tuna or mackerel) can be given to try to entice her too.
If you can, check her crop, see if it's emptying.

Keep me posted on how they are getting along.

 

[TheChickenFanatic]

I'm glad he's doing a lot better and that she made it through the night.

Good job on continuing treating both. Do the best you can. Work on getting the little hen hydrated and see if she will eat a little wet mushy feed. Little bits of cooked egg, fish (like sardines, tuna or mackerel) can be given to try to entice her too.
If you can, check her crop, see if it's emptying.

Keep me posted on how they are getting along.

Another update from today: They are both doing so much better! They are moving around, and eating and drinking on their own. None of my other chickens are displaying any symptoms so far. The hen's crop was empty this morning (I checked her this morning before she ate).

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Another update from today: They are both doing so much better! They are moving around, and eating and drinking on their own. None of my other chickens are displaying any symptoms so far. The hen's crop was empty this morning (I checked her this morning before she ate).

Very good! I'm glad they are both doing better.

I wonder if the little hen was suffering from cold and just needed some extra heat and food/water. Some birds can have a harder time during winter than others.
Just a thought. You're doing a good job taking care of them, keep up the good work.