Possibly anemic hen due to mites ADVICE NEEDED ASAP

[agold23]

I have a 1 y/o silkie hen who has really been having a rough go the past few days. I was handling her the other day, looking for mites and I couldn’t find any physically on her but when I got inside I found 3 crawling on my arm so I figured she (as well as the rest of my flock) must be absolutely infested. She hatched one chick about 5 weeks ago and lost a lot of weight during her brood but she’s barely put any back on. Yesterday I tried to feed her scrambled eggs with garlic but she wouldn’t eat. Today I syringe fed her 1 and a half raw egg yolks which she gobbled down as well as some apple sauce. I also saw her have 6/7 sips of water which I put electrolytes in. This afternoon she perked up a bit, was talking to her chick more than before and was walking (surely but slowly) but I checked about 2 hours later and she was back to square one, crunched down in the corner of the run, puffed up and eyes closed. We’re going to start treating with permethrin spray (we’re in Canada so we’ll probably have to use bronco spray, but we’ll see what’s at the feed store) but we’ve been trying to use DE to at least curb some of the mite population. I was thinking of also bathing her tomorrow in some dawn dish soap to kill some of them aswell and then blow dry her on low with a diffuser. Please tell us what else we should do with the poor hen as well as what’s the best way to kill the infestation! Has anyone else had any chickens like this? How did they recover?

 

[Buffy Brahma Mama]

I have a 1 y/o silkie hen who has really been having a rough go the past few days. I was handling her the other day, looking for mites and I couldn’t find any physically on her but when I got inside I found 3 crawling on my arm so I figured she (as well as the rest of my flock) must be absolutely infested. She hatched one chick about 5 weeks ago and lost a lot of weight during her brood but she’s barely put any back on. Yesterday I tried to feed her scrambled eggs with garlic but she wouldn’t eat. Today I syringe fed her 1 and a half raw egg yolks which she gobbled down as well as some apple sauce. I also saw her have 6/7 sips of water which I put electrolytes in. This afternoon she perked up a bit, was talking to her chick more than before and was walking (surely but slowly) but I checked about 2 hours later and she was back to square one, crunched down in the corner of the run, puffed up and eyes closed. We’re going to start treating with permethrin spray (we’re in Canada so we’ll probably have to use bronco spray, but we’ll see what’s at the feed store) but we’ve been trying to use DE to at least curb some of the mite population. I was thinking of also bathing her tomorrow in some dawn dish soap to kill some of them aswell and then blow dry her on low with a diffuser. Please tell us what else we should do with the poor hen as well as what’s the best way to kill the infestation! Has anyone else had any chickens like this? How did they recover?

We had 3 die after red mite infestation.

If your infestation is ongoing, take her out with her chick (if that can be done safely) and keep them in a non-infested area.

With mites, you have to worry about blood volume loss and not just the resulting anemia. They can kill an apparently healthy chicken over night in a bad infestation.

To know how bad it is, go out around 10-midnight and look under your roost poles. Be prepared to be horrified.

I used pyganic specialty on the birds and coop and it was a quick knock down that worked perfectly. Its the organic form of permethrin I believe. You can get it online if you can find it shipped to Canada. Use what you have if you have something now. DE as well can work, but you need it thick. No duster or small application in the litter, you need to cake it on as thick as mortar for bricks and rub it generously into every single crack in your coop. nest box and roost poles. I'm talking super thick, so that when the mites try to crawl through it, they dry up and can't even make it through. I use about a 10lb bag of DE in an 8x8 coop on all cracks, walls, roosts, boxes and bedding.

Your hen may have other issues as well, making the mite issue critical. There are specialty treatments vets can administer to improve oxygen level etc in the blood if they are experienced and advanced, but you will need to ask them if they have that experience if you go that route. Remember that doing too many tests right now on her can also cause mortality if she lost too much blood. So they should take the minimum needed to treat the possible oxygen depletion and anemia.

I have seen some great avian and farm vets, and others that are far less advanced.
The best thing you can do right now is stop the blood loss from the mites.
The few that are on the bird right now are disconcerting, but the real threat are the ones hiding in the walls of the coop. They will come out of the woodwork of your coop where you least expect it and it may be in the millions. There are also likely millions in the bedding, even if it looks clean. Look closely.

Safer brand neem makes a ready to use product you can also spray on the birds, but it doesn't seem to work as fast as pyganic specialty.

Dawn dish soap will remove all the natural oils in her feathers and make it harder to thermoregulate right now. Best to use a spray or powder on her.

Good luck, keep us posted!

 

[Banana01]

Does she sleep with the babies? It would be hard to imagine the full grown hen succomb to mites while the babies aren't affected. Usually the babies will succomb quickly and the mother would not be affected so much, so long as she had a place to do her dust baths.

What is your history with worms in your location or experience with treating worms? Do you ever have to treat any other chickens for worms?

 

[agold23]

She sleeps with baby on the floor. We had one case of possible coccidiosis about a month and a half ago which affected my lavender orpington (she would stand there feathers fluffed and eyes closed but at least she’s eat and drink) and we treated the whole flock for a week and it resolved itself. I have never seen silkie have a dust bath or preen herself for more than a few seconds (doesn’t mean she doesn’t do it) I’m kind of at a loss right now for what I have access to and what I can physically do for her.

 

[agold23]

Thank you for all that, I am honestly limited as to what I can do for her vet wise as I’m only 15 and I live in the country and I don’t know how much money my parents would be willing to spend on a bird that costs $20 at most… I wouldn’t be heartbroken if she didn’t make it but I definitely don’t want to see her die. It’ll be a few days before I’m actually able to treat them with the insecticide so should I take them out now or after? I’d stick them in the basement, use newspaper for bedding and maybe set up my old bearded dragons heat lamp and put it far enough away for a bit of a temperature boost as well as “daylight”.I’ll continue to feed her egg yolk and hopefully I’ll get her strong enough to the point where she can eat on her own, but I don’t know if that’s possible. It’s so upsetting to see how something so small can do so much damage. I just went out to check on her, she was in her nest in the corner of the coop with chick and was talking to her. She perked up when I got in, stood up and then crunched back down. I’ll feed her once she gets outside of the coop.

 

[MilesFluffybutt]

@agold23 Have you identified the type of mites? Red mites live in the coop and feed on the chickens at night. Northern Fowl live on the bird and look like tiny specks of moving dust.

In either case, I'd give her a bath to help relieve some of the immediate stress and put them in the basement until you are able to treat the coop. Depending on how many chickens you have, consider giving them all a spa day.

 

[agold23]

I have 6 plus a 5 week old chick, I’m concerned about giving the really sick silkie a bath as she might get really cold after and that would be the kicker… Pretty sure it’s northern fowl mites because I found them crawling on me during the day and when I checked the coop at night I didnt find any on the roost or nest boxes, granted this was hours after I covered the place with DE, but when I was cleaning it out I moved a pile of from under the roost and saw a ton of mites crawling underneath…

 

[agold23]

Here they are in their hospital pen, you can see the hen is just all puffed up and not moving.

 

[Buffy Brahma Mama]

I have 6 plus a 5 week old chick, I’m concerned about giving the really sick silkie a bath as she might get really cold after and that would be the kicker… Pretty sure it’s northern fowl mites because I found them crawling on me during the day and when I checked the coop at night I didnt find any on the roost or nest boxes, granted this was hours after I covered the place with DE, but when I was cleaning it out I moved a pile of from under the roost and saw a ton of mites crawling underneath…

Keep using the DE really thick in the coop. it will work if its thick enough. You can use it on them as well, just not on the face area. Make sure you also wear your mask when using it.

For mites in the coop, you can also use boiling hot water the next time you clean, which should be every 3 or 4 days until the mites are gone. Make sure no birds are in there of course. If you have a clean pump garden sprayer it is easy to spray the boiling water that way, but you can clean the coop other ways as well. Then apply your thick layers of DE on all areas and cracks of the coop, as well as daily on birds and in the dust bath areas outside the coop.

Its best to talk to your parents letting them know you care about the bird and letting them know that you may have to get some extra bedding, DE and other supplies for a while that will cost extra, and then discuss if they are willing to contribute some to trying to help her get better and what that amount might be. If you are willing to help out extra around the house, let them know that too and it may help the situation. That way everything is on the table and you can get a plan together of how to proceed and what options are best to try to help her.

Keep up their nutrition. If you can get a hold of some plain yogurt and applesauce, you can mix it into some of their food as a nutritious treat (1/8 cup per day is probably reasonable).

Good Luck, I hope she recovers for you!

 

[Buffy Brahma Mama]

View attachment 2787539
Here they are in their hospital pen, you can see the hen is just all puffed up and not moving.

Keep an eye on her crop as well - gently feel it in the morning and at the end of each day. It should be full at night and mainly empty in the morning when she wakes up.

Also inspect her poop. Look for worms and any abnormalities. How is her back end area? It is clean, or is there watery poop residue.

Again there may be other issues going on with her in addition to the mites, as another post mentioned about parasites.

Some other beneficial treats you can give her are watermelon, cantaloupe, small pieces of chopped kale.

Keep us posted!