Is My Easter Egger Sick??

[Coturnix Quail]

I have 9 one year old hens. My ee has been losing feathers, the cause of which has been thought to be mites/lice. This has been there for maybe 1-2 months now. I have tried dieatemacious earth and I've been dusting her every now and then but it doesn't seem to be working. Just today I've noticed she's been clucking a bit weird almost like a broody which she was for a bit before all this and I flipped her on her side to dust her and when I put her right side up she drooled a little clear substance, about a drop or two. Then later she drooled the same thing. I'm confused. She doesn't seem to have much interest in things she used to like such as corn, mealworms, bird seed ext. She's also been quite a bit more cuddle but maybe because I haven't seen her in 2 days. I'm worried I feel like she's sick but I'm not sure. Can someone help me?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Sounds like you are correct.

DE is useless... and over rated. It won't work on infestations and in many environments. It gives people a false sense of security. Permethrin spray is effective, affordable, safe, easy to use, and labeled for use in chickens...

Please, what are you feeding including treats and supplements? Have you had a fecal float to check worm load... or wormed and with what?

Where are you located? Is she molting? Can you post a pic of her?

Hope she recovers!

 

[Coturnix Quail]

Okay, I'll see if I can get my hands on that spray.. I am feeding a layer feed. Here is the information

I give throw out a handful of corn almost every day. Mealworms are pretty rare. Cooked rice has been pretty scarce, we give them scraps but lately the only thing which was a couple weeks back was mangoes. I've never checked my hens for worms cause they've never exhibited any behavior showing signs of worms. I am located upstate NY. I don't know if she's molting because she has lost quite a few feathers. Here is her before all this

And after.

Sorry the quality isn't the best. Yesterday I saw she has small watery poos. One was kinda yellow and the other was a brownish I believe. She seems to be a bit more active today.

 

[rebrascora]

Do you have a cockerel or rooster? The feather loss is consistent with mating feather damage. Alternatively you may have a hen that is mounting her. You are doing them no favours health wise in giving them corn or seeds or rice. Layer feed is formulated to provide a healthy balanced diet for them. If they also get to free range then that is a wonderful healthy treat without adding potentially unhealthy ones.
I would be careful about "flipping" a chicken onto their side or back as it puts undue pressure on their respiratory system as well as risking them aspirating reflux if they have a full crop. I have seen chickens reflux occasionally. Sometimes it can resolve itself but it can also be an indication of a possible impaction somewhere in the digestive tract and it is worth investigating further. I would do a crop function test overnight tonight..... check her crop when she goes to roost. It should be at least partially full. Remove access to food and check again first thing in the morning. If it is not empty then you are looking at a possible impaction or partial impaction or possibly slow crop. This can be due to a blockage in the crop or an issue lower down the digestive tract.... reproductive malfunctions are common in hens and can cause a mass of egg material to build up in the abdomen and constrict the gut backing things up from there, so the next thing to check would be for any abdominal swelling by cupping your hand and feeling between her legs and below her vent and comparing with your other chickens....this is easiest done at night whilst they are roosting when you can check one after the other to get a direct comparison. Soiled butt feathers are also often an indication of abdominal swelling, so keep an eye out for that. If everything is checked and appears in order and she is otherwise acting fine then just keep it in the back of your mind and monitor her a little more closely than the others for any other signs of being unwell.... chickens will do their utmost to hide illness, so by the time you notice things can be well progressed.

I have had some successes and some failures with DE as regards mites. I personally would be checking for lice and mites before I used anything. Most healthy birds will keep lice at bay by dust bathing providing they have dry soil/earth to use for that purpose. Mites live and breed in the coop and climb onto the chickens at night to suck their blood whilst they are roosting and there nothing the birds can do about it, except maybe get difficult about going into the coop at night. Knowing the difference between the two and how to find and identify them is an important part of chicken keeping. Usually you will see clusters of tiny grey eggs at the base of feather shafts that are stuck like concrete if it is lice and the adults are usually quite fast moving on the skin when you part the feathers and normally straw or tan coloured. Mites live in the cracks and crevices of the coop and will be tiny round, blood red insects that are slower moving. They will live in clusters usually where they are breeding. If you squish them with the back of your finger nail you will see a smear of blood. Usually there will be some at the end of the roosting bars on the underside or in the socket that the bar sits on.... basically anywhere that it is dark and they will be safe from chickens pecking them.
My feeling is that this is not parasites but another chicken that is causing your hen's feather damage.

 

[Coturnix Quail]

No roo, but one rir hen seems to mate with a few of the other hens, but rarely. Okay, no more excess food except exposure to the garden every week or so. Won't be flipping her again, I'll try that crop function test and also will check her abdomen. They do have lost of access to sand and dirt, and they love to dustbathe. Her skin is between two colors, a reddish pink or a yellowy tan. I've checked almost all the hands for those eggs but nothing turned up. Should I isolate her in a cage inside the run? Thank you guys for the reply, I really appreciate the advice.