Please Help! Am I Fighting A Losing Battle?

[GimiiwanAnaakwad]

We stripped the coop. Bleached the removable floor. And then dusted everything. Then put in new bedding. Hope it saves her. She seems to be the only one that is being affected by this whole thing.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

If I use the Sevin how long would I have to dispose of the eggs?

No withdrawal time. I use sevin in my chicken bedding. I use this recipe to spray my chickens for mites.

 

[Flamens Farm]

Sorry to read that you are having a problem with one of your newly acquired hens. I think you should do what they say, just dust her, the other two and your coop. Are you sure your chicken is not just sunbathing? They will lay on their side with a leg extended sometimes in the hot bright sun. Mine love it even the chicks. I have a 5 almost 6-year old that lays every day, but of course, different breeds have a certain life of egg production, so just because she might be 3 or 4 does not mean her life is over unless you want it to be or she is really sick and there is nothing you can do about it. edited: you posted when I posted this, sure hope all goes well for her.

 

[cmom]

I agree with the other posts. If you have a TSC you can buy permethrin spray already mixed or the concentrate to mix with water. Spray every nook and cranny in the coop, the walls, ceiling, floors, roosts on and under them, Nest boxes inside and out, everything. I had my first bout with mites not long ago and if she is as infested as you posted I'm sure the others may too but maybe not as noticeable. You probably got her with the mites but it wasn't noticeable at first. I only found mites in one of my coops but I'm spraying all of them and I'm spraying weekly because the spray doesn't kill mite eggs, but when they hatch. My birds are improving and now starting to molt. I'm a softie and my hubby tells me so as I try to give each bird a good quality of life. At least I can say I tried. Good luck and I hope everything works out for you.

 

[christwodog]

You could give her a protein boost with a cheap can of tunafish, mine love it. I also use sevin dust routinely when I clean the coop every weekend. I sprinkle it on their roost bars and nesting areas, as well as the ground, then put fresh hay on top. I do this more as a preventive measure - I check for mites/lice at night, luckily have never found any. I hope she can pull through!

 

[cmom]

You can give her some electrolytes with vitamins in her water and a good high protein feed. Give her some cat food nibbles, they are high in protein. You may have to break them up some. I have done it to help mine, you can mix it in with their regular feed. You may want to bathe her in some Adams or similar flea shampoo. I did that to one of my girls that seemed a little more infested than the others. It did help. Just my thoughts.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I was given the hens a few weeks ago. Two of the are doing fine. However one hen is floppy. I noticed her scales in her feet were heavy and thick. So I thought maybe it was that scaley mite. So I've been soaking her feet in Epson salt and covering her legs and feet with bag balm. She has never taken a dust bath so I have her one today. I noticed that she has small orange mites on her body last night. I'm thinking about spending the last of my money on DE to dust her. She will eat and drink if they are right in front of her. I'm putting Apple cider vinegar in the water. But she is still weak and her comb is pale. Am I fighting a losing battle? She can barely walk.

You have received good advice from the others so I won't go over treatment options for the lice and mites.

If you have photos of your hen you would like to share, we will be happy to take a closer look.

You mentioned she is pale and possibly anemic, that very well could be due to the infestation. In addition to her regular poultry feed give her about 1tablespoon of chopped liver or quality canned dog food daily. When you have the resources, poultry vitamins like Rooster Booster Poultry Cell or Rooster Booster Vitamins/Electrolytes with probiotics would be good to give as well.

I do understand about money being tight, but also consider getting a fecal float or de-worming too. You don't mention your location, but a lot of times State Labs offer services such as fecal floats/testing at minimal cost compared to Vets.

 

[GimiiwanAnaakwad]

You have received good advice from the others so I won't go over treatment options for the lice and mites.

If you have photos of your hen you would like to share, we will be happy to take a closer look.

You mentioned she is pale and possibly anemic, that very well could be due to the infestation. In addition to her regular poultry feed give her about 1tablespoon of chopped liver or quality canned dog food daily. When you have the resources, poultry vitamins like Rooster Booster Poultry Cell or Rooster Booster Vitamins/Electrolytes with probiotics would be good to give as well.

I do understand about money being tight, but also consider getting a fecal float or de-worming too. You don't mention your location, but a lot of times State Labs offer services such as fecal floats/testing at minimal cost compared to Vets.

Thank you so very much for the help. I had no idea I needed to work my chickens. Never did that growing up. It's been one of those years that everything on the homestead has gone wrong! Is there any good reading that will help me with the health and care of my chickens?

 

[GimiiwanAnaakwad]

Sorry to read that you are having a problem with one of your newly acquired hens. I think you should do what they say, just dust her, the other two and your coop. Are you sure your chicken is not just sunbathing? They will lay on their side with a leg extended sometimes in the hot bright sun. Mine love it even the chicks. I have a 5 almost 6-year old that lays every day, but of course, different breeds have a certain life of egg production, so just because she might be 3 or 4 does not mean her life is over unless you want it to be or she is really sick and there is nothing you can do about it. edited: you posted when I posted this, sure hope all goes well for her.

I don't think she's sunbathing. The poor girl can barely walk. She falls over constantly and only seems to walk and eat after it cools down in the evening. Even then she puffs up holds her wings far from her body and runs a few steps then will fall down and rest awhile. Maybe peck at the ground a bit. I have started caring her from the coop to the yard in the morning.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you so very much for the help. I had no idea I needed to work my chickens. Never did that growing up. It's been one of those years that everything on the homestead has gone wrong! Is there any good reading that will help me with the health and care of my chickens?

Suggested book would be by Gail Damerow - you may be able to find a copy at your library.