I’m really desperate, my chicken won’t eat!

[cmom]

Yeah I hate mites, they make the chickens suffer so badly. I got permethrin dust, would that do the same job or would spray be better? I've noticed little hard mite stuff on the feathers under their chins, but it's too dark right now to take a picture and they are too fidgety for bedtime.

I would get that hard stuff off. It could be clusters of mite eggs then treat her to more dusting. I would spray her coop because if she is in with other birds, there is a chance they all have some mites.

 

[emmagat]

To properly check her crop you need to feel it first thing in the morning. It should be empty. Then offer food & water.
Sometimes chickens will just go thru the motions of eating but actually are not.
A full crop (depends on size of breed) should be aprox. The size of a
Ping pong ball. You should be able to gently massage it. If she is not eating and her crop is rock hard she might have an obstruction. I like to use coconut oil Because you can chill it and make a
Pea sized ball but really any oil will do. You can give oil and massage the crop to loosen it up. You can also use a NON stimulating laxative. I like the jell caps. I just squeeze it directly into the beak.
Some of the foods my chickens absolutely never turn Down is tuna and shredded cooked chicken breast. Both are high in protein. I would wait on the yogurt. Sometimes it can cause diarrhea and that’s very dehydrating to the hens system. Keeping her hydrated at this point is so important. I had a Roo with continuous crop problems. What worked for me was to pour water (gently) overjust the tip of his beak. He’d shake his head. He’d protest but after a while he just started lapping it up. Once he figured it out we were good to go. Please do your best to hydrate her. Best wishes

Thank you so much!! I will definitely try the oil, and I have coconut oil so I'll give her some of that.

 

[emmagat]

Have you any idea what previous owner fed? Some are Extremely finicky about changing feed. Cooked egg is rarely refused.
FYI they can't have been treated nor tested for Mareks as there isn't a treatment nor test, only after they die can Mareks be confirmed.

I'm not sure what they were fed, but the lady who I bought them from was very deceitful. She lied about them being sick, she cut the roo's tail feathers off to make him look like a girl, etc. But I'll cook up some eggs for them, and hopefully that will get some protein into her. She ate some grain, but I'll make a little meal for her and her brother. I never knew chickens could even be picky eaters!

 

[emmagat]

I would get that hard stuff off. It could be clusters of mite eggs then treat her to more dusting. I would spray her coop because if she is in with other birds, there is a chance they all have some mites.

Her and her rooster friend are kept separate from my others, thank goodness. But do you think the mites could be giving her anemia and maybe that's why she isn't eating? Also, could I cut the feathers that have hard stuff off? I tried scraping it off but I think the scraping was pulling and she got upset.

 

[cmom]

I had some of the hard stuff on one of my girls too like that and I moistened it and did pull it out. I did some research on the mites and their eggs and that is what it looked like to me.

 

[cmom]

I sprayed all of my coops because I don't know how my birds got the mites but if the mites can get into one coop, I figured they could migrate to the other coops so I sprayed all of the coops thoroughly inside with several treatments over a few weeks. In the spring I'm going to go on a maintenance program and spray the coops probably once a month. Now I have no more mites.

I'm not sure if I posted this here, but I also gave the birds baths with flea shampoo. They had the mites bad. The shampooing did help but it didn't get rid of them all. I do have the permethrin dust too but I'll stick with the spray.

 

[emmagat]

I had some of the hard stuff on one of my girls too like that and I moistened it and did pull it out. I did some research on the mites and their eggs and that is what it looked like to me.

Oh wow I didn't even think to use water to loosen it lol. And will any flea shampoo be safe? I just want to get rid of these blood sucking pests fast and without causing harm to the chickens. Which shampoo did you use?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi everyone! I posted this a few hours ago but haven’t really gotten many answers and I’m getting desperate. I recently just bought 2 lavender cuckoo orpingtons from a show about 2 months ago. Turned out they had coccidiosis, but I brought them to the vet and they were treated with antibiotics. Anyway, the rooster has a healthy appetite and loves grain and corn. The hen, however, does not seem interested in food. They are about 4 or 5 months old, and they seem like they have vision problems, too. By that, I mean that they seem to have problems perceiving depth. The hen also has problems standing up and balancing, which I’m assuming is because she isn’t eating, and she seems very weak. They are also kind of pale. I recently discovered that they have mites, so I bought a powder to dust them with. Also worth noting is the fact that they were tested for Marek’s, so that’s crossed off the list of things that could be wrong. They both seem very alert and cognitive so I am not sure what’s wrong. Anyway, any help would be hugely appreciated, so thank you in advance!!!!

Also her crop feels a little lumpy, but I think it’s the small amount of grain she ate. I got her to eat a little bit, so at least she’s not completely starving, but she’s definitely not eating a normal amount. The rooster eats like he’s eating a nice piece of chocolate cake, she eats like she’s eating brussels sprouts. Her appetite just isn’t really there.

I've noticed little hard mite stuff on the feathers under their chins

I'm not sure what they were fed, but the lady who I bought them from was very deceitful. She lied about them being sick, she cut the roo's tail feathers off to make him look like a girl, etc

Hi @emmagat
Can you post some photos of the pullet's poop?
Do you remember what you used to treat the Coccidiosis?
What are you feeding them?

I would definately treat for the mites. The dust is o.k. on the chickens, but for housing as mentioned, the spray is easier to use.
Remember to repeat treatment of both birds and housing in 10-14 days intervals to kill any that have hatched. The hard mite stuff under the chins sounds like Lice eggs, you can try to get those off by using a bit of coconut oil to "unglue" them.

Check her crop first thing in the morning before she eats/drinks and let us know how the crop feels.

You've gotten good suggestions from everyone. I would try to entice her to eat, make a wet mash of food along with a little scrambled egg.

Just curious as the mention they were tested for Marek's? What kind of test was that?

 

[Bamabexchicks]

If she likes corn and grain you could try warming some frozen corn too. I often mix it with scrambled eggs or other things that I'm trying to entice my girls to try. If it has corn in it they will eat it.

 

[cmom]

Oh wow I didn't even think to use water to loosen it lol. And will any flea shampoo be safe? I just want to get rid of these blood sucking pests fast and without causing harm to the chickens. Which shampoo did you use?

I used Adams but I don't think it really makes much of a difference. It did get rid of a lot of mites but there were still some on them so I repeated the bath.

The first tub I washed them in. The 2nd tub had water with a cup of vinegar to help rinse out the shampoo. The third tub had plain water for the final rinse. I use the same setup when bathing the birds before a show.