Help!

[emilyjay]

Dear all,

The other day my partner and I adopted a beautiful silkie hen. We got her home and i noticed her behaviour was quite strange, all she wanted to do was sit down, wouldn't eat or drink. When she did walk it seemed awfully strange. I did a bit of research and found a forum about scaly leg mites, her poor legs looked exactly like the photos. My partner and i got her straight into a bath and went and bought some pestene. But we also noticed that there were lice type bugs through her feathers and especially on her head. We combed as many as we could out but I'm unsure as to what they are, and if the pestene will kill them.
We are keeping her inside and away from our others to avoid any infestation, but I'm really worried and not sure what to do and how to effectively treat her.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Hi

Sorry to hear your new silkie hens is so under the weather. Parasites on them sure can make them feel pretty poorly. I have found that ivermectin drops placed on the birds skin between the feathers work fantastic on lice and mites. You put it on like spot on flea treatment for cats and dogs.

Here are some threads on lice and mites ~ https://www.backyardchickens.com/newsearch?search=Lice+and+mites#

Also some on ivermectin drops ~ https://www.backyardchickens.com/newsearch?search=Ivermectin+drops#

Good luck with her and I hope she is well again soon

 

[emilyjay]

Thank you so much for your advice! I'll definitely look into those drops and hopefully she'll start to get on the mend!