Something crawly on the chicken's vent...

[Katiedid]

I think they have lice or mites. Small, fast moving brown bugs on one of the chickens vents. None observed else where. I checked because she's in a partial molt and this seemed like an odd time for that. None of the other birds seemed to have anything, though two had broken feathers near their vents. This is my first year doing the deep liter method and I can't help but feel I did something wrong. Anyway, I'll obviously clean their coop entirely tomorrow. I've done a bunch of websearches on getting rid of lice or mites and there are a broad range of opinions. I coated the poor thing with DE and sent her to bed. Then I coated all the other hens bottoms in DE. What are your opinions? This is my second year keeping chickens so I'm still pretty new. I'm not too concerned about eating eggs right now, and since the problem seems to be relatively minor at this point, I'd like to get it fixed ASAP and move on. I'm not a huge fan of chemicals, but Id rather use them if they are safe and fix the problem than spend a lot of time on remedies that don't work. We're in a cold snap so I don't want to do anything involving bathing right now.

Thanks for your help!

 

[willowbranchfarm]

Sounds like your on the right track. Just make sure to clean the whole coop and dust all the chickens.

 

[Katiedid]

Do I dust with DE or Sevin? I don't think she's near death or anything, but I don't like the idea of animals suffering out of human laziness. (Or, in my case, ignorance.) Do I clean the coop with bleach or a chemical solution or just plain old water?

Thanks again.

 

[Nutcase]

From your description I'm guessing it's probably lice or mites. I think that using the DE was a good move but I'm not sure that cleaning the coop will get rid of them - after all, they are on the chickens, right? Bathing is a good idea provided that you use chemicals/other designated treatment in the water, but I fully understand if you don't want to do that in cold weather. Check the other chickens for anything and if the hen you mentioned is the only one with lice/mites then you may want to isolate her before the problem spreads any further. The bedding should be replaced to prevent any housing of mites too.

Hope this helps. If I think of anything else I'll post it!

 

[Katiedid]

Yeah, it's going to be below freezing for the next week or so and my large dog and non-chicken loving husband wouldn't tolerate her in the house. Plus, with the broken feathers on the others, I'm beginning to suspect I may just not have seen the infestations on them....or I'm totally paranoid. Either seems possible. I've read good reviews of Poultry Protector, has anyone had experience with that? I don't know anything about it's active ingredient - Potassium Sorbate. I've also heard Sevin is the stuff and also that it is terrible.

 

[casportpony]

I tried DE, didn't work for me, so now I use poultry dust on the birds and I spray their coops and perches with Sevin Concentrate.

 

[Katiedid]

Thanks! This is perfect, I know I've seen those products at my local hardware store. I'm starting to question my suitability for keeping chickens. I've only lost one and I was way too upset. Now I get really worried if they have an problems at all. I'd do better with skin a little thicker.

 

[Nutcase]

No don't give up keeping chickens whatever you do Katiedid!! I'm heart broken whenever I lose one. Keep on going! I had to lose my sentisivity to the little things - like a big lump of poo on my verandah

 

[casportpony]

Thanks! This is perfect, I know I've seen those products at my local hardware store. I'm starting to question my suitability for keeping chickens. I've only lost one and I was way too upset. Now I get really worried if they have an problems at all. I'd do better with skin a little thicker.

Chickens are hard work, but it can be very rewarding when you make your breakfast from the eggs of your hens and the veggies from your garden. You're doing great! Now might be a good time to think about a "de-worming" program.

 

[Katiedid]

I dewormed them last spring with wazine - I know it only does round worms, but my puppy had round worms so I knew for sure the chickens had a chance of being exposed. Didn't seem like any of them had it. Do you suggest worming right after I delice/mite? I'm not using light in the coop so our egg production is really low. This wouldn't be a bad time to be throwing eggs away. On the other hand, the next month and a half are the coldest in our area so I don't want to add an additional stress. (If de-worming stresses?) I really appreciate all the advice!