Rooster abuse?

[aart]

I treated the coop and all surfaces with a stronger solution then diluted and used on the birds based on the instructions. They all seemed fine this AM. I'll check back when I can determine the effectiveness of my treatments.
It is odd that only 2 hens seemed to have been affected by the mites. 3 other hens and my rooster didn't seem to have any issues. Assuming it's mites... Even the affected ones seem ok. Eating, drinking, ranging and laying.

Did you see the mites?

 

[Michaels1715]

I'm assuming that the active ingredient in the "garden and poultry dust"  was permethrin?
Sounds like maybe the dust got over-applied if it was still thick on bird 2 days later. 
It definitely is a respiratory risk, for both birds and keepers, and should be handled and applied judiciously and with great caution.
Older and/or already compromised birds are certainly at greater risk.

Yes, permethrin. I just looked at the container. It is "Y•Tex GardStar Garden and Poultry Dust ...with permethrin"

I didn't think I put it on that thick on any of them, but since it's been almost a year, and half the time I can't remember yesterday....
I do remember, however, that I paid particular attention to the vent area (as stated in the instructions), but then also under the wings and the back because I had seen mites there (northern fowl).
I think it stayed on her because she wasn't moving around at all. I actually picked her up a few times and tried to shake/brush as much of it off as I could - which she was not happy about - but had I known then what I know now - I would have gotten every speck off of her.

Will never use the nasty stufff again on my babies. I've heard good things about ivermectin (?i think that's it - used for worming too, right?). I plan on using that in the spring if necessary, which it may not be this year since I switched to sand in my coop. We'll see.

And it wasn't that the powder was thick necessarily - but just that I t stayed on her - and just picture a bird standing there preening itself - entire head going under its wings and in between its feathers....

Do I KNOW that is what killed her? No. And no, I did not pay for an autopsy. I laid her quietly to rest next to her sisters. But I do know that she went blind within a few days of dusting her. And I am 99.999% sure the blindness is why she had trouble - and finally stopped - eating (despite my very best efforts to get her to eat - I spent hours with her each day. Yes, I get way too attached to some of my chickies.) And since she would not eat - that is why I had her put down after a couple of days. I don't think there's very many blind chickens out there - because they just can't survive without their sight.

Thanks for your replies.
And jsyk, there is no apostrophe in Michaels. It is my last name.

 

[JanetMarie]

@aart "That stuff" I was referring to was mentioned by Michaels1715 in the post just above my post: Garden and Poultry dust. I assumed Michaels1715 knew what I was referring to, but I apologize for not explaining thoroughly for everyone else.

 

[Michaels1715]

I treated the coop and all surfaces with a stronger solution then diluted and used on the birds based on the instructions. They all seemed fine this AM. I'll check back when I can determine the effectiveness of my treatments.
It is odd that only 2 hens seemed to have been affected by the mites. 3 other hens and my rooster didn't seem to have any issues. Assuming it's mites... Even the affected ones seem ok. Eating, drinking, ranging and laying.

It's not necessarily strange that only some seem to be affected. Some birds will naturally resist mites/worms better than others. Also, I have heard that mites prefer younger birds (although that was not my experience), so they may be more heavily affected. It's kind of like people - you know how there's always that person that won't get bit by a single mosquito while you're being eaten alive? Or maybe they are being bitten, but it doesn't bother them, and their body doesn't react with a huge itchy bump like yours does. Same thing can be the case with birds and animals too.

I also wanted to mention another possibility - worms. Now that I'm thinking about it - the feather loss from mites wasn't my most recent feather issue - most recently, I had 2 or 3 hens with feather loss similar to yours (sorry - my memory isn't the best and months and years all tend to blur together unless I really think about it) - so now that I'm thinking about it, they did regrow their feathers nicely after I wormed everyone (I found a roundworm in a poo pile). I did a ton of research before worming - I ended up using Valbazen. I did pick up a horse wormer paste also (must be ivermectin I think- to treat the mites too) at the same time because initially I couldn't decide what to use - but I will wait and use that the next time. I just hate throwing away all those eggs. BUT, worming them will probably net me more eggs in the long run (since the girls are healthier). I had also noticed some soft shells before worming them (about half of my girls are going on 5 years old - so initially I thought that might partly be age related) - but that's no longer an issue either.

Best wishes to you and your flock.
~Sharon

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Birds that are infested with external parasites often have something else going on which makes them not dust bath and tend to their grooming.

So it's possible an already sick bird could have troubles handling any type of treatment.

The only birds I have seen an excess of external parasites on were either broody or they died not too long after. Some would say the parasites killed them. I personally think it's a symptom of other issues with the bird.

 

[aart]

@aart "That stuff" I was referring to was mentioned by Michaels1715 in the post just above my post: Garden and Poultry dust. I assumed Michaels1715 knew what I was referring to, but I apologize for not explaining thoroughly for everyone else.

Always good to clarify with chemical names....permethrin is not toxic to poultry, when used according to directions.
It's one of the very few (maybe the only) things available OTC for external parasites that is labeled for poultry use and has no egg/meat withdrawal.

 

[21hens-incharge]

My experience with mites affected only the broody ones AND only in the two coops that had external nest boxes.

I treated mine with sevin dust mixed with DE. Very very easy to get it airborn so extreme caution had to be used. Hubby grabbed a sleeping hen, I took them to the run and dusted then released. I wore a particle dust mask AND safety goggles (not just glasses but GOGGLES).
I had a storage tote with the powder mix in it and set the hen in then worked the dust through the feathers. The head and faces were off limits and since the bird was upright I feel it was a bit safer for them.

Just reminding everyone to take precautions to protect themselves too.

 

[Folly's place]

And remember that Sevin (carbaryl) is not approved for use in poultry in the USA. Permethrin spray is approved and much easier to use! Mary

 

[21hens-incharge]

I learned it was not approved only after using it. Thanks for the reminder Folly.

 

[Folly's place]

I used to use it too, and still have some on the shelf. Mary