Sick Chicken, diarrhea and lice—please help!!

[Friendofchickens250]

My poor girl got poultry lice when one of my friends that has a larger flock was watching her.
I am in the process of treating her for the lice, but the diarrhea started before I realized she had lice and before I started treating her.She has had severe diarrhea for the last week. It is thick and it covers the floor of her pen and must be cleaned up every single morning. Luckily, she is not lethargic, is eating fine, and seems in relatively good spirits despite the circumstances.

The soonest my vet can get her in is Sept. 10th, but I will be calling again tomorrow to see if I can get in sooner. Does anyone have any advice? I am very worried about her.

 

[Debbie292d]

Hi,

What did you use to get rid of the lice? Most of us would use permethrin powder, but asking in case it was what you may have used.

Lice and mites can take a chicken down. I would alternate probiotics one day, as that will help with their digestive systems, and poultry vitamins the next and go every other day for a couple of weeks. That should help them get back to their original strength.

For probiotics, we ferment, but otherwise would use a tablespoon of Greek yogurt per day, or they make powders for their water. For vitamins, we usually use Poultry Cell.

 

[Friendofchickens250]

My poor girl got poultry lice when one of my friends that has a larger flock was watching her. She has also developed severe diarrhea for the last week. It is thick and it covers the floor of her pen and must be cleaned up every single morning. Luckily, she is not lethargic, is eating fine, and seems in relatively good spirits despite the circumstances.

The soonest my vet can get her in is Sept. 10th, but I will be calling again tomorrow to see if I can get in sooner. Does anyone have any advice? I am very worried about her.

Hi,

What did you use to get rid of the lice? Most of us would use permethrin powder, but asking in case it was what you may have used.

Lice and mites can take a chicken down. I would alternate probiotics one day, as that will help with their digestive systems, and poultry vitamins the next and go every other day for a couple of weeks. That should help them get back to their original strength.

For probiotics, we ferment, but otherwise would use a tablespoon of Greek yogurt per day, or they make powders for their water. For vitamins, we usually use Poultry Cell.

I used a permethrin dunk and sprayed her neck, vent area, and under the wings. Since I have a cat around, I don’t want her getting into the dust. It seems to have gotten the majority of the lice, and I’ll be treating her again Tuesday (about a week after the first treatment).

Thanks for the advice, I’ll try probiotics and vitamins for the time being.