Simmons Homestead
Chirping
Hi all,
So last year was a hard year in chicken keeping for me--I lost one of my hens to water belly and I had my first encounter with mites. I've been battling them for a long time. Anyway, I think I got rid of them, but unfortunately, I didn't check my ladies for mites afterwards as much as I should have, or I would have caught this sooner.
I went out today since strangely, none of them had come down (they're usually down by 7 at latest, and it was 3:00 P.M.) and I found them all in the nesting-box, standing there as if they didn't want to go out. They've done this once before, when it was snowing, and it was snowing this morning. (If anyone can tell me why this is, it would be a great help.)
I hadn't checked them for mites recently so I decided I would--and I didn't see any mites (I don't think, at least) but I was horrified by the bloody scabs and raw, red flesh around their vents. It's the worst on my oldest--a black sex-link named Ash, who has always had trouble keeping her bum clean--and there's been poop caked on her feathers.
I checked all of them and they all have blood on their behinds around their vents. Is this the aftermath of the mites? Is it stress? Have they been pulling their feathers? I noticed the skin was really dry and flaking, does that have anything to do with it?
If, in the spring, I bathe them, will it go away? I'm wondering if it's because of the mites, since I got rid of them mid-Fall, and didn't have time to wash the ladies before the cold set in. Is it infected, and what can I do to help get them through the winter? Would vaseline or dabbing at their vents with a warm, wet paper towel help?
Other than those things, they're happy and (I assume) healthy. If I can get some pics in the future, I'll make sure to load them on here.
Thanks,
The Simmons Homestead
So last year was a hard year in chicken keeping for me--I lost one of my hens to water belly and I had my first encounter with mites. I've been battling them for a long time. Anyway, I think I got rid of them, but unfortunately, I didn't check my ladies for mites afterwards as much as I should have, or I would have caught this sooner.
I went out today since strangely, none of them had come down (they're usually down by 7 at latest, and it was 3:00 P.M.) and I found them all in the nesting-box, standing there as if they didn't want to go out. They've done this once before, when it was snowing, and it was snowing this morning. (If anyone can tell me why this is, it would be a great help.)
I hadn't checked them for mites recently so I decided I would--and I didn't see any mites (I don't think, at least) but I was horrified by the bloody scabs and raw, red flesh around their vents. It's the worst on my oldest--a black sex-link named Ash, who has always had trouble keeping her bum clean--and there's been poop caked on her feathers.
I checked all of them and they all have blood on their behinds around their vents. Is this the aftermath of the mites? Is it stress? Have they been pulling their feathers? I noticed the skin was really dry and flaking, does that have anything to do with it?
If, in the spring, I bathe them, will it go away? I'm wondering if it's because of the mites, since I got rid of them mid-Fall, and didn't have time to wash the ladies before the cold set in. Is it infected, and what can I do to help get them through the winter? Would vaseline or dabbing at their vents with a warm, wet paper towel help?
Other than those things, they're happy and (I assume) healthy. If I can get some pics in the future, I'll make sure to load them on here.
Thanks,
The Simmons Homestead
