hen with raw skin and missing feathers

[limsan]

Hi everyone;Before I get to my question I would like to thank everyone who responded to my half born chick post earlier. I have become 'mom' to this little guy as I am the first live thing he laid eyes on. I attempted to reintroduce him to his real mother but he wouldn't go to her and now days later the real mother will not accept him. So,I cart him around with me everywhere which can be a bit of an incnvenience to say the least. It's great to be a mom again tho! Anyway, I noticed recently one of my hens with missing feathers on raw looking skin at the base of her spine above her tail?? I am pretty sure they all have lice or something as they are always picking and scratching. I treated them all a couple months ago but, it's back. I will likely be treating them again soon as I cant' stand watching them. Even this little chick has them. Is this likely a result of the lice or could it be something else? She is the only one with this symptom. Also, I looked at the 'poo' link and did not see any black diarhea. What would this indicate? Thanks for any and all replies.

 

[Judy]

Sounds like the first thing to do is re-treat for lice/mites. You have to retreat in about 14 days, as the initial treatment only kills live bugs, and the eggs will the hatch. You also have to treat the coop. Not all of them stay on the birds all day. That is why it is recommended to do your checking for them on the roost and at night.

 

[dlhunicorn]

Your coop is probably wood with lots of nooks and crannies (this is why I have the inside of my coop lined with plastic wall paneling and sealed off with a raised floor > no place for the for them to nestle into!) and this can make getting rid of an infestion particularly difficult. You will need to have a liquid product to "soak" the surface and get into all those little nooks and crannies... impossible to do in the winter but now is a good time to totally clean out that coop and treat it ... otherwise the birds will simply get reinfested.