I have a lone chick that lives in a hutch up off the ground. It's a silkie and I bought it locally. Since I got it, it's had a growth on it's beak near and covering the nostrils. The fungus/tumor/whatever is growing and no surrounds the top madible/beak and is even in the roof of the poor thing's mouth.
Today I picked it up for the first time in a couple of weeks and found mites covering the area under it's wings. I'd noticed before that its feathers were sparse but didn't think much of it. The chick is white and, of course, its skin is dark so it didn't alarm me that I could see dark areas.
I'm not expecting this little guy to have along life anyway as it has that unsightly growth. In fact, the other two of the three chicks I got from this lady have died. This is such a happy little chick that I decided to let it live out what life it has. Until now.
I have three other birds sharing the pen. The little mite ridden chick is and has been quarantined (only by circumstance) in a hutch and isn't in contact with the others. One of my hens is hatching eggs right now and the other sleeps up on top of the parakeet's (bird #3) cage which sits on top of the hutch.
I suppose it is possible that all three have mites. I checked the two hens' feathers and didn't see anything awry. I checked all the way to the skin, I didn't see anything flaky or missing, just nice full fluff. I didn't check the parakeet :/
What should I do about this little one covered in mites? I don't want the new hatches getting them, or my other hens and parakeet getting them.
If you're still reading- here's what I'm thinking: I can move the broody and babies because they're in a pet carrier (that's what she chose as her nest). Then I can spray down the hutch, remove its bedding and dispose of it, rake the ground around it, get rid of that and finaly dust the hutch and ground around it.
If I need to just spray an ddust everything and everyone, I will. I know some may say to do it anyway as a precaution. That's fine, but what about the hatchling(s)? Will any of this make them sick?
I really think (and hope) that this chick came here with problems and probably brought the mites with it. I've never had any problems with this with my other chickens. I've raised many other chicks here and not had a problem.
One last thing- this little one with the mites can't close the tip of her beak all the way. Could this be why she got so infested? Could it be that they all have these mites but are able to pick them with their beaks and this one can't?
Today I picked it up for the first time in a couple of weeks and found mites covering the area under it's wings. I'd noticed before that its feathers were sparse but didn't think much of it. The chick is white and, of course, its skin is dark so it didn't alarm me that I could see dark areas.
I'm not expecting this little guy to have along life anyway as it has that unsightly growth. In fact, the other two of the three chicks I got from this lady have died. This is such a happy little chick that I decided to let it live out what life it has. Until now.
I have three other birds sharing the pen. The little mite ridden chick is and has been quarantined (only by circumstance) in a hutch and isn't in contact with the others. One of my hens is hatching eggs right now and the other sleeps up on top of the parakeet's (bird #3) cage which sits on top of the hutch.
I suppose it is possible that all three have mites. I checked the two hens' feathers and didn't see anything awry. I checked all the way to the skin, I didn't see anything flaky or missing, just nice full fluff. I didn't check the parakeet :/
What should I do about this little one covered in mites? I don't want the new hatches getting them, or my other hens and parakeet getting them.
If you're still reading- here's what I'm thinking: I can move the broody and babies because they're in a pet carrier (that's what she chose as her nest). Then I can spray down the hutch, remove its bedding and dispose of it, rake the ground around it, get rid of that and finaly dust the hutch and ground around it.
If I need to just spray an ddust everything and everyone, I will. I know some may say to do it anyway as a precaution. That's fine, but what about the hatchling(s)? Will any of this make them sick?
I really think (and hope) that this chick came here with problems and probably brought the mites with it. I've never had any problems with this with my other chickens. I've raised many other chicks here and not had a problem.
One last thing- this little one with the mites can't close the tip of her beak all the way. Could this be why she got so infested? Could it be that they all have these mites but are able to pick them with their beaks and this one can't?