Lost a hen tonight...

[Mrs. K]

I think you are being too hard on yourself. Chicken most generally are not real long lived animals, most often a lot of mine die before they are 4. And it occurs just like you describe it, they are fine, and the next day they are dead.

I would imagine that you do have coyotes and coons, coons tend to be night predators and coyotes tend to be day time predators, and both of them can be darn difficult to outwit. If you have chickens, well there are very few of us that have not fed the wildlife and the wildlife need to eat too.

As for the mites - do not waste time doing a homeopathic treatment, get the real pesticides and get rid of them. Mites are something you will quickly recognize the next time you get a bird with them.

So stop beating yourself up, you are doing fine. Not all chickens will live for years and years, and that is ok, cause spring is coming and you can add some chicks, which is always fun.

This hobby is not for the very tender hearted, you kind have to shake off some losses and mark it up to experience.

Mrs K

 

[Rajandura]

thank you all for the replies. Even the one telling me to man up... sometimes you just need a gut punch to get your priorities straight! I am tender hearted, so each loss to me is a hit, especially since i put so much effort into trying to do this right. I am, however, quickly learning that there is no "right way", there is just "a way" and no matter how much you read or google, the book doesnt give you what you have to learn, sometimes the "hard way". I wanted to share with you what I have done to try to rectify this mite problem.
So all of the birds had body mites. A few of them have leg mites as well. I have been treating the leg mites with vaseline/veg oil and started giving supplements via water. Ive also been adding garlic and ACV to their water occasionally. I only had a galvanized heated waterer, so i purchased a plastic one so that I could add it in more regularly now. I kidnapped all the girls and put them in a pen in the garage while i stripped down their coop. After removing all bedding from the coop and nest boxes, I tried something that I came up with on my own... i tried "smoking the coop". I read someones post that the only way to get rid of a serious mite infestation was to burn down the coop. Well, I like this coop, and its too nice to burn down... so i, being a fireman and having a outdoor wood boiler, filled a metal can with coals and some damp straw, stuck it in the coop, closed it up nice and (as) tight as i could get it, and smoked it. I waited until smoke poured from the seams, and then let it run for about 10 minutes. I figured this would find all of the mites little hiding places. Then, I shop vac'd out the coop, and sprayed it down inside with a water/veg oil/dish soap/peppermint oil concoction. Once that dried (mind you, its chicago winter here), I put down food grade DE all over the coop, roosts, nesting boxes, and added fresh bedding. I made sure to wipe down their roosts with the DE on a cloth real well. I added fresh bedding(straw) back to the coop and boxes. I did the same thing to their attached run, and put down DE on its floor. I added fresh wood ash and sand with DE to their dusting "pit", bleached all of their food/water containers, and rinsed everything thoroughly. I had bought the permetheran(sp?) dust to sprinkle on them, but, i am not really into the insecticide stuff, and since all of these hens are still healthy, i decided to spray them down with a non toxic poultry spray i got at farm n fleet. (the main ingredient is potassium sorbate, which is used in wine making apparantely). i gave them all a good spray while holding them inverted, making sure to get their vent area and under wings/breast real good. Im pretty sure they all hate me now, but its ok. I am a father, this doesnt phase me.
I put all the girls back in their coop/run and added fresh food and water.
I plan to repeat this entire sequence next week, however, if i notice the birds are still infested as bad as they were, I will resort to dusting them with the powder instead of using the spray. Im going to keep them on the electrolyte/vitamin supplements and boost up their protein with some scrambled egg and mealworm treat cakes occasionally.
Thanks for reading my novel. Any feedback, good or bad, is appreciated!
Ryan
*i wanted to add that I do not add anything to the galvanized waterer, only to plastic waterers. I did learn that from a book

 

[aart]

Im pretty sure they all hate me now, but its ok. I am a father, this doesnt phase me.

This cracked me up!

I had bought the permetheran(sp?) dust to sprinkle on them, but, i am not really into the insecticide stuff,

Well, good thing you have it on hand, because your are going to need it.
DE ACV garlic are not going to help one iota,
other than make you feel like you are doing something.

The smoking might help. ...that was funny too, pretty clever and probably safe since you are a fire fighter.
But in the end you're going to need that permethrin to eradicate the mites.
Is your permethrin powder or liquid?
Need powder in winter for birds....liquid still might be best if you need to treat coop itself.

Do you know if they are Red Roost Mites or Northern Fowl Mites?
Here's a great description:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-chicken-has-mites-now-what.1273674/page-2#post-20483008

 

[Mrs. K]

I agree ^^ with AARt. The best thing you did was the complete sweep out. But insects are wiley foes, and with a flock, they will pass them back and forth. So if one only had one bird infected, one might possible get rid of them with the mechanical treatments, ( I don't think so, but maybe) but with a flock, you will prolong this infestation, and the infestation will get deeper and deeper the longer you don't address it.

If you want to get rid of all the mites on all your birds and out of your coop, you need the pesticide.

Adding stuff to water really is not good for birds. My birds won't touch garlic if it gets sent in the scraps. Animals often have an instinct what they should and should not eat. Same thing with citrus foods, so I am thinking that vinegar is something they would not eat either. The only thing vinegar is good for is keeping the green slime out of a large water container in the summer.

I would be wary of that much DE, which can irritate the lungs. If it is perfectly dry, it might help with the mites, as in keep an infestation from coming back. But if every bird has them, you need to get serious about getting rid of them.

IMO it would be far better to follow the directions on the pesticide and solve the problem, than to experiment with some unregulated theories, but to each coop, their own way of doing things.

ps. I did not mean to imply that you man up about your losses, I meant to tell you, that your expectations were too high. Chickens in most set ups have a limited life span. Once in a while you get a real long lived bird, and while there are people who have crazily old flocks, they tend to be the exception.

Mrs K

 

[Notaneggspurt]

Agreed on the permethrin. If it's any comfort is also what is used for lice treatment on human children. I used to be able to find pyrethrin which is derived from chrysanthemum flowers but no clue how effective it would be.

 

[MissChick@dee]

I too am not a fan of chemicals...but with a infestation you’ll never get rid of them. I think like this...if my dogs had fleas DE would not help even if I kept them fully submerged for the two weeks it takes to stop the life cycle of eggs/larvae/adult/eggs.
Picking them off or washing them off nope wouldn’t work either it only takes a few to start a colony Again!
You need to impact the environment where they live in the coop and on the birds.
You said your birds are healthy that’s good they’ll tolerate having their coop sprayed very well. You’ll need to get on top of this or your girls won’t be healthy for long. Mites can actually feed on chickens to the point of them becoming anemic which is a slippery slope leading to many health issues.
I have used DE. In researching it, it only kills insects with a outer skeleton. Does nothing for eggs or larvae. It’s extremely effective on ants.. yet they somehow always come back.
The whole smoking the coop was very clever! Shows you where all the gaps are but not the crevices where mites like to go during daylight hours. I’m going to invest in some quality coop paint and paint my coop inside and out (on my to do list) it’ll fill in gaps and seal my wood.
Unfortunately I think you’re fighting a up hill battle using tools that will not help you win the war. Sometimes you just gotta pull out the big guns. Gotta get serious!
Because mite are designed for survival. I wish you good luck!

 

[Rajandura]

Thank you all for your input. This is why i made this post, not only to vent, but to learn. And, learning I am. I am skeptical about the poultry spray... that is why i bought the chemical dust as well. I am also thinking about painting the inside this spring as well, and caulking any joints. Something else I wouldnt have thought of doing and would have thought was pointless.
I let the birds free range as often as I can, so i imagine i will always have to deal with mites. The birds always have access to dust, and use it a lot, so i guess it is surprising that they have mites. I believe they are the northern fowl mites, but i did see a red one on one bird, perhaps it was just full of blood though. The others were tannish, almost skin colored and very hard to see.
The neighbor i got the hens from told me he never did anything with the birds, never checked them or their feet. I guess its possible that they came to me infested and im just catching up to it now. Yay me.
Ryan

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

Greetings Rajandura,

I am so sorry for your losses.

Keepers all over the world, have been where you are, right now. With time and effort, you will become more experienced. But, even then...there are no guarantees. Sometimes no matter how knowledgeable or proactive you are, there will be losses.

The losses are hardest, with our first flocks. But, that feeling of loss should never go away for a keeper. That feeling will inspire you to learn more, to do better, to be creative, and most of all - to enjoy these precious beautiful creatures!

Two days ago, my alpha rooster aspirated on some muddy water, after a heavy rain. He was staggering, and gasping for air, as his comb and face grew dark. Thankfully, I was present, and I flew into action to save his life. After checking his throat for blockage, I realized his airway was wide open. But no air was coming out. I performed chicken CPR, then, when he was able to breath a bit better, I rushed him to my vet. I thank the good Lord, that he has fully recovered. But, I would not have known to do this for him, just 3 years ago. He most likely would have gone unconscious, and then died. Because I was present, this also gave him an advantage. It does help their survival if you watch over them. But, it is not reasonable to always do that, either.

Another time, a bobcat hopped over my fence in the middle of the day, and took one of my hens. I ran to help her, but the bobcat was faster, stronger and more agile, than me. Talk about heart break!

This is chicken keeping. There are many situations that bring tragedy to the flock. Some situations are preventable, and even fixable.

You have the makings of good chicken keeper. Take a moment to grieve, then, refocus on the flock, and the future chickens that will, again, steal your heart!

God Bless

 

[MissChick@dee]

Greetings Rajandura,

I am so sorry for your losses.

Keepers all over the world, have been where you are, right now. With time and effort, you will become more experienced. But, even then...there are no guarantees. Sometimes no matter how knowledgeable or proactive you are, there will be losses.

The losses are hardest, with our first flocks. But, that feeling of loss should never go away for a keeper. That feeling will inspire you to learn more, to do better, to be creative, and most of all - to enjoy these precious beautiful creatures!

Two days ago, my alpha rooster aspirated on some muddy water, after a heavy rain. He was staggering, and gasping for air, as his comb and face grew dark. Thankfully, I was present, and I flew into action to save his life. After checking his throat for blockage, I realized his airway was wide open. But no air was coming out. I performed chicken CPR, then, when he was able to breath a bit better, I rushed him to my vet. I thank the good Lord, that he has fully recovered. But, I would not have known to do this for him, just 3 years ago. He most likely would have gone unconscious, and then died. Because I was present, this also gave him an advantage. It does help their survival if you watch over them. But, it is not reasonable to always do that, either.

Another time, a bobcat hopped over my fence in the middle of the day, and took one of my hens. I ran to help her, but the bobcat was faster, stronger and more agile, than me. Talk about heart break!

This is chicken keeping. There are many situations that bring tragedy to the flock. Some situations are preventable, and even fixable.

You have the makings of good chicken keeper. Take a moment to grieve, then, refocus on the flock, and the future chickens that will, again, steal your heart!

God Bless

View attachment 1645698

How do you do CPR on a chicken? I’m curious.

 

[Rajandura]

I agree ^^ with AARt. The best thing you did was the complete sweep out. But insects are wiley foes, and with a flock, they will pass them back and forth. So if one only had one bird infected, one might possible get rid of them with the mechanical treatments, ( I don't think so, but maybe) but with a flock, you will prolong this infestation, and the infestation will get deeper and deeper the longer you don't address it.

If you want to get rid of all the mites on all your birds and out of your coop, you need the pesticide.

Adding stuff to water really is not good for birds. My birds won't touch garlic if it gets sent in the scraps. Animals often have an instinct what they should and should not eat. Same thing with citrus foods, so I am thinking that vinegar is something they would not eat either. The only thing vinegar is good for is keeping the green slime out of a large water container in the summer.

I would be wary of that much DE, which can irritate the lungs. If it is perfectly dry, it might help with the mites, as in keep an infestation from coming back. But if every bird has them, you need to get serious about getting rid of them.

IMO it would be far better to follow the directions on the pesticide and solve the problem, than to experiment with some unregulated theories, but to each coop, their own way of doing things.

ps. I did not mean to imply that you man up about your losses, I meant to tell you, that your expectations were too high. Chickens in most set ups have a limited life span. Once in a while you get a real long lived bird, and while there are people who have crazily old flocks, they tend to be the exception.

Mrs K

Thanks for your advice. i was wondering if you knew- if and when I begin the permetherin, and i have to pitch the eggs, can i feed them back to the birds, or is that a bad idea?

Thanks,
Ryan