Solid stones at base of feathers near vent

[Charlotte D]

Thank you so much for your advice, everyone. We have snipped the affected feathers. I have rubbed coconut fat on her too in that area.
I have three hens, Raquel has been dealt with so far, Nesta looks clean (though I understand that in all likelihood she isn't), and Nicole also has some small clumps so she will be sorted tomorrow along with the coop and everything in it.
Thanks again.

 

[Mark Park]

This is probably obvious, but:
if one chicken has that, the others probably do too (although maybe not as badly.) So plan treatment for all birds, not just the one.

Exactly. They will all have it

 

[Mark Park]

Thank you so much for your advice, everyone. We have snipped the affected feathers. I have rubbed coconut fat on her too in that area.
I have three hens, Raquel has been dealt with so far, Nesta looks clean (though I understand that in all likelihood she isn't), and Nicole also has some small clumps so she will be sorted tomorrow along with the coop and everything in it.
Thanks again.

Forget Coconut fat. You have an infestation. That's what you have. You are not doing those birds a favour by being "natural" and "homeopathic". Getting rid of the bugs is not easy and you have to take drastic measures or they will keep getting sick.

Do you see all those red dots on their perches? They are getting chewed up every night by an army of insects that hides in the boards of the shed during the day and comes out at night to feed on them. And as the birds get weaker they fall prey to ther illnesses to.

Getting did of mites is not easy and it won't happen with cocnut oil. I'm sorry if that's harsh, but at least it's true

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Forget Coconut fat. You have an infestation. That's what you have. You are not doing those birds a favour by being "natural" and "homeopathic". Getting rid of the bugs is not easy and you have to take drastic measures or they will keep getting sick.

Do you see all those red dots on their perches? They are getting chewed up every night by an army of insects that hides in the boards of the shed during the day and comes out at night to feed on them. And as the birds get weaker they fall prey to ther illnesses to.

Getting did of mites is not easy and it won't happen with cocnut oil. I'm sorry if that's harsh, but at least it's true

They might have used the fat to try and sooth the area.

 

[Charlotte D]

Forget Coconut fat. You have an infestation. That's what you have. You are not doing those birds a favour by being "natural" and "homeopathic". Getting rid of the bugs is not easy and you have to take drastic measures or they will keep getting sick.

Do you see all those red dots on their perches? They are getting chewed up every night by an army of insects that hides in the boards of the shed during the day and comes out at night to feed on them. And as the birds get weaker they fall prey to ther illnesses to.

Getting did of mites is not easy and it won't happen with cocnut oil. I'm sorry if that's harsh, but at least it's true

Thanks. Perhaps I didn't make myself clear. Everything will be fully cleaned and permethrin'd ((if there is such a verb ) tomorrow.
Like most people, I do like to do things naturally as I think that is the best way for bird and human, however I am not too precious to turn to chemical aid when needs be.
I have checked the perches just now(they are all roosting) and there are no such blood spots on the perches. I have rubbed along under and over with a tissue to check.
From my research on lice it appears that they live their entire lives on the birds so maybe that is to be expected.
Thanks again for all advice.

 

[JDChickChat]

Forget Coconut fat. You have an infestation. That's what you have. You are not doing those birds a favour by being "natural" and "homeopathic". Getting rid of the bugs is not easy and you have to take drastic measures or they will keep getting sick.

Do you see all those red dots on their perches? They are getting chewed up every night by an army of insects that hides in the boards of the shed during the day and comes out at night to feed on them. And as the birds get weaker they fall prey to ther illnesses to.

Getting did of mites is not easy and it won't happen with cocnut oil. I'm sorry if that's harsh, but at least it's true

OP said that they were going to take care of the coop and the other hens tomorrow. The coconut was just to sooth the area affected after removing the live eggs.

You should really thoroughly read a thread before coming on so harshly to someone, just a thought.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

It's like putting Aloe on a burn. It's not meant to stop anything but ease the pain

 

[Mark Park]

Good luck getting rid of them. They could be lice too, which isn't good either since they can get in your house and bedding and furniture and infest your dogs and kids and etc. I once caught lice or fleas, I can't remember which, from a disgusting lorry load of beef skins I hauled from Cornwall to Carnaby. Everyone in the house got them a few of thr kids' friends got it too. It was very embarassing. We ended up having to "bomb" the whole house with some noxious chemical to get rid of them.

You should take care of this bug problem as quick as poss. Don't be shy about using whatever they recommend to get rid of it.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Good luck getting rid of them. They could be lice too, which isn't good either since they can get in your house and bedding and furniture and infest your dogs and kids and etc. I once caught lice or fleas, I can't remember which, from a disgusting lorry load of beef skins I hauled from Cornwall to Carnaby. Everyone in the house got them a few of thr kids' friends got it too. It was very embarassing. We ended up having to "bomb" the whole house with some noxious chemical to get rid of them.

You should take care of this bug problem as quick as poss. Don't be shy about using whatever they recommend to get rid of it.

Birds lice actually don't spread to humans. Different species

 

[Mark Park]

Birds lice actually don't spread to humans. Different species

That's good to know.