I think my chickens might have mites or lice.
There is a little drop in egg production, but it has been HOT! (On a side note, the humidity and heat finally broke in the evening yest.
). I actually noticed one of our old hens acting lethargic and walking kinda weird, which actually made me think of egg bound but she's ok there. This hen is pretty old though. She is a production red and has a permanent receding hairline!
When I picked her up to inspect her, I first noticed how light she is, but again, she is old. Her feathers are rough, many broken, especially on rear half of her. Her vent feathers are thin but she still has some. I found one scab about an inch below her vent that was smaller than a pencil eraser. I've seen mites before. How hard is it to see lice or their nits? She is still eating.
I have read that good layers have really bad looking feathers and molting time is not here yet so her feathers should be on their last legs so to speak.
I swear I have looked at her and other hens at night and day and I don't know! I mean, it is time to clean the hen house and I already planned on brushing the roosts with linseed oil and kerosene combo because we have a feather legged bantam that has scaly leg mites. We usually do put some Sevin on the floor before we put down fresh wood shavings.
My husband thinks I'm crazy.
He's right, of course. I would just like to know if he's right about this!
I really love coming on here and knowing I'm not the only one that actually loves my chickens! I'm pretty much homebound so it's great to have a community like this and to have someplace to go for help and not have anyone make you feel stupid either. I've even been able to help people!
There is a little drop in egg production, but it has been HOT! (On a side note, the humidity and heat finally broke in the evening yest.
When I picked her up to inspect her, I first noticed how light she is, but again, she is old. Her feathers are rough, many broken, especially on rear half of her. Her vent feathers are thin but she still has some. I found one scab about an inch below her vent that was smaller than a pencil eraser. I've seen mites before. How hard is it to see lice or their nits? She is still eating.
I have read that good layers have really bad looking feathers and molting time is not here yet so her feathers should be on their last legs so to speak.
I swear I have looked at her and other hens at night and day and I don't know! I mean, it is time to clean the hen house and I already planned on brushing the roosts with linseed oil and kerosene combo because we have a feather legged bantam that has scaly leg mites. We usually do put some Sevin on the floor before we put down fresh wood shavings.
My husband thinks I'm crazy.
