Mites, molt, lice, gleet....ugh

[Nicolehv]

I am new to a flock of hens and have 3 separated due to losing feathers and getting pecked by bullies. I have a couple pictures, bit they aren't the best. I am new to chickens all together and could use some suggestions.
Thanks so much
Nicole

 

[Tookie]

How are your hens?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I am new to a flock of hens and have 3 separated due to losing feathers and getting pecked by bullies. I have a couple pictures, bit they aren't the best. I am new to chickens all together and could use some suggestions.
Thanks so much
Nicole

Welcome To BYC

It's hard to tell what's going on by your photos. Can you get some more that are clear?

From what I can see, they have feather loss from picking and/or mating.
How much space do you have in your coop/run and how many birds do you have in that space?
What do you feed including treats?

Your title mentions mites, lice and gleet?
Do you see mites and lice on your birds? Look them over for crawling bugs, inspect under their vents for bugs at night. If you see any, then treat with a Permethrin based poultry dust or spray in 5-7 day intervals, treat your coop as well.
Gleet is a yeasty discharge from the vent, do you see that? Photos?

Thanks!

 

[Nicolehv]

How are your hens?

They are happy, eating, and definitely comfortable.

Welcome To BYC

It's hard to tell what's going on by your photos. Can you get some more that are clear?

From what I can see, they have feather loss from picking and/or mating.
How much space do you have in your coop/run and how many birds do you have in that space?
What do you feed including treats?

Your title mentions mites, lice and gleet?
Do you see mites and lice on your birds? Look them over for crawling bugs, inspect under their vents for bugs at night. If you see any, then treat with a Permethrin based poultry dust or spray in 5-7 day intervals, treat your coop as well.
Gleet is a yeasty discharge from the vent, do you see that? Photos?

Thanks!

I did treat the coop and chickens. I inherited the care a few weeks ago and am now realizing that they weren't being cared for. Poor girls. I have a vet coming the first week in September for a flock check and am trying to get ahead of any issues I see. I feel very overwhelmed and am trying to do everything right for them. I for sure think they have mites on their feet too...ugh. Thank you for responding and any advice would be appreciated.
Nicole

 

[Tookie]

They are happy, eating, and definitely comfortable.

I did treat the coop and chickens. I inherited the care a few weeks ago and am now realizing that they weren't being cared for. Poor girls. I have a vet coming the first week in September for a flock check and am trying to get ahead of any issues I see. I feel very overwhelmed and am trying to do everything right for them. I for sure think they have mites on their feet too...ugh. Thank you for responding and any advice would be appreciated.
Nicole

They do have scaly leg mites. Here's a good article about treatment.->
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/treating-scaly-leg-mites-slm-what-you-need-to-know.77376/

About the bullies, I suggest you separate them from the flock for a couple days, but make sure they can see each other, but not touch.

Do you know how old they are? Do you have a rooster?

Are any of them laying eggs?

I suggest you do a health check up now on your flock, it may take awhile but you need to make sure everybody is ok. Its best to do it at night or early morning. Here's what to look for on each chicken.->

• Look for mites and lice, they're usually around the vent area.
• Check all the hens abdomen and see if there bloated at all. (the chickens abdomen is under the vent in between the legs) Check them for this, just making sure they don't have ascites.
• Check all their crops early in the morning before they are up and eating and drinking, make sure the crops have all emptied.
• Look for any bubbly eyes, raspy breathing, and swollen faces. Look for these symptoms to make sure they don't have any respiratory illness.
• Look for any lesions or canker in the mouths if they will cooperate.
• Make sure their combs look ok, nice and red. What your looking for here is to make sure they don't have wet or fowl pox.

It would also be good to deworm them.

 

[Nicolehv]

I have separated the bullies and they can all still see each other. I do not have a rooster. There are 17 hens that range in age from 3 years to 7 years old. Yes they are laying eggs, but only certain ones. Luckily I do have some help and he has been around chickens before. He is comfortable picking them up and we do everything you suggested first thing in the morning. I will also see if the vet can come sooner if they have a cancelation. There are 3 hens that I am suspecting are "broody" and one does have a bare belly. Not swollen though. I thought that they had mites all over, but didn't see any. I did treat/clean the entire coop. The 3 that seem broody do have combs that don't super healthy. Quite pale. I haven't heard or seen signs of respiratory problems, and will try looking in their mouths if they will let me. I will for sure de worm them. I feel awful for these girls and am just going to make it right. If you can think of anything else please let me know and you have no idea how much I appreciate your time and advice. I am so down about this and will give it all of my effort.

 

[Nicolehv]

That's her belly and backside

 

[Wyorp Rock]

You inherited them. Did these all live together before?

What did you treat the coop with?

I'd use a Permethrin spray to treat the coop and use a Permethrin dust to treat all the hens, this will take care of lice/mites on the body and housing, repeat in 5-7 days intervals..

They do have Scaly leg mites too, so give their legs and feet a good coating of vaseline or NuStock cream once a week for several weeks. This will smother the mites and help heal the legs and feet. The reason to do this extra step for the SLM is a topical dusting or spray isn't going to treat the SLM that live under the scales, the vaseline or cream is worked upward into the scales.

Some of the feather loss, picking and bullying may be from not being all that well cared for. Perhaps they needed to compete for feed or didn't get a complete feed. Having bugs, birds will pick at themselves too.
I'd get them on a nutritionally balanced feed that is at least 16% protein, higher (18-20% is better, but more expensive nowadays), see that they are getting out of the coop and into the run for exercise and sunshine.
I'm not a fan of separation. Chickens pick at one another, that's the breaks of the chicken world. It's not uncommon for there to be some plucking going on. Hard to know if some of it's due to nutritional deficiency, space or the lice/mites.
I'd see if the bullying starts to resolve once everyone is eating well and the lice/mite issue gets resolved. Do provide multiple feed stations if there's room.

 

[Tookie]

Is the one with a bare belly broody? I think that can happen to broodys.

 

[Nicolehv]

Yes, the one with the feathers missing from her belly is broody. They all did live together and hope that after everyone is healthy we can reintroduce them. They eat purina organic chicken scratch and same brand of layer crumble. The bullying was what I noticed first and isolated the 2 bullies in their own coop, but they can still see each other. I researched chicken bullying behavior and started making hanging vegetables to promote healthy pecking. I also made dust bath areas with natural wood ash, sand, and fresh rosemary. They definitely have ample food and water setups and plenty of room. It a lovely set up and I will take a picture in the morning. I definitely have come a long way in the few weeks I have been taking care of them and they are definitely better off now. I will am looking forward to the vet coming, but have my work cut out for me and it's going to take time and patience...which I have. You have been such a great source of information and support I can't express my gratitude enough. I don't know anything or anyone that has chickens so it's just me trying to make these girls lives healthy and happy. Did you ever have these issues? I certainly hope not. I am going to attach some pictures of them eating their treats. Thanks so very much