mites, lice, and a very sick bird

[allison94]

ok..we'll start at the beginning...my birds have had bald patches for months...they had been pecking at each other...we thought it was due to that...however, we dusted them with de...once...and put it in the places where they like to dust bathe, but never followed up on it...fast forward about 6 months....my son started telling me about 5 days ago that one of our hens was "pale"...I thought he was crazy...a "pale" hen??? our hens who don't like to be handled a few days later let him walk up to her and pick her up...the next day her head was dropped between her shoulder blades and although she was eating and drinking wasn't acting right....she was just standing in one spot...I had him go in and get her and bring her to me...I put her in isolation in my laundry room...I noticed two bugs crawling on her around her eye which I'm thinking were mites....I dusted her....the next morning she hadn't drank or eaten anything...I bathed her in dawn, cleaned out the crate I had her in and got her to eat some raw hamburger, berries, yogurt and applesauce...her poo is black, the little bit that is solid..the rest is clear liquid...today I got her to eat some rice to try to help with the poo issue...she is more alert today...My other birds all got dusted last night...some of them did have lice and mites...I was told to clear the henhouse and put de everywhere and replace bedding....I don't know what else to do for the sick one...she is on electrolytes, vitamins, probiotics...I'm feeding her bits of raw hamburger to give her extra iron...she is very weak...HELP

 

[Poultry parent]

if there is indeed a lice or mite problem, when a chicken gets too many external parasites they can get anemic that is probably what happened to your hen, check her vent for lice, a lot of external parasites hang around the vent

 

[Wyorp Rock]

If you are seeing that many and she is pale and weak from possible overload of parasites, then in my opinion the DE will be ineffective. Look for poultry dust at the feed store and treat all your birds, clean out the coop and treat the coop as well. Repeat in 7days to kill off all the nits(egg) left behind.


http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/08/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification.html
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/1483/common-external-parasites-in-poultry-lice-and-mites/

 

[allison94]

If you are seeing that many and she is pale and weak from possible overload of parasites, then in my opinion the DE will be ineffective. Look for poultry dust at the feed store and treat all your birds, clean out the coop and treat the coop as well. Repeat in 7days to kill off all the nits(egg) left behind.


http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/08/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification.html
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/1483/common-external-parasites-in-poultry-lice-and-mites/

 

[allison94]

What I didn't mention is that my whole flock has drastically lost weight....they have protruding breastbones...egg production has dropped...they are still eating and drinking, aside from the one I have inside that is finicky...someone suggested worms...Idk What to do...I went and got ivermax ...not sure how long eggs are affected???

 

[Wyorp Rock]

A mites/lice infestation can cause the symptoms you mention, weight loss, drop in egg production, anemia, paleness.

It's possible you could also have a worm problem. A fecal sample taken to the vet for a fecal float can help confirm whether you need to treat for worms as well as mites/lice.

Encourage the one you have separated to eat and drink. You can add some vitamins to her water to help give her a boost. Also wet chicken food may be more palatable or you can give egg, tuna, salmon or meat for extra protein.

http://www.chickenvet.co.uk/health-and-common-diseases/mites-lice/index.aspx

Chicken Chick has withdrawal periods in this article: http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2015/11/control-treatment-of-worms-in-chickens.html

 

[robdog]

Add DE to their feed
mix 5% of DE into their feed really good.. Should help with any stress inside.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Add DE to their feed
mix 5% of DE into their feed really good.. Should help with any stress inside.

I must respectfully disagree.
While the pros/cons of using DE as a wormer, feed additive, miracle cure is debatable. Adding more dust to already dusty feed in this circumstance will not be beneficial.

A sick chicken needs nutrition to boost them back to health. After treatment(s) for parasites probiotics/yogurt can be introduced to help with inside stress, followed by poultry vitamins.