Sticky red spots around vent feathers

[Buster's Banties]

I have a mystery I need to solve before it spreads to the rest of my flock!

I found orangish-red residue around the vent feathers on my 4 week old barred rocks & lakenvelders. Some of the roos have it over a bit larger area but it seems to have started at their vent. The spots do not move and can't be easily scratch off. The birds are not scratching or picking at it but it's aberrant and makes me worry for my other birds.

I have sawdust & fire ash for my flock to roll in. I haven't had any problems with mites or lice, etc.... This stuff is more like pustules surrounding the base of the feathers.

Weird, huh? Can't find anything even remotely close in the literature but I'll keep digging.

 

[CMV]

It sounds like parasites. Signs are right, location is right. Have you examined them at night with a flashlight? Is the residue on the feathers or on the skin?

You might want to search through some of the old postings here because there are a lot of great pictures of various types of parasites and their effects on a birds appearance.

Sorry I couldn't be more help. I will say that this year has been a bad one for insect problems. Good luck.

 

[Buster's Banties]

THANK YOU for your reply!!!

It's on the skin at the base of the feathers. Haven't found any matching pix via google searches but sounds like I need to track down some kind of insecticide.

Would diatomaceous earth work?

 

[CMV]

DE is very effective at keeping bugs away, but if your birds have an active infestation then I would be leaning more towards an insecticide. Have you tried Sevin dust? Don't use it if you have any waterfowl around because it's toxic to them, but works well on chickens.

 

[Country4ever]

That's a good start. Put it on her backside, and under her wings, and in her bedding. Be careful not to breath it in yourself though. And try to keep the chicken from breathing it in. You might have to repeat it, since it might not kill the eggs.

 

[Buster's Banties]

OK. I got some Sevin, DE, garlic, & yogurt (figure I may as well throw some good karma to their intestinal tracts). The weather's cooperating with my plan to clean out coops - starting with the one where they seem drawn to at night. I was going to treat everyone in the coop with Sevin.

Here's the kicker - my ducks also sleep in that coop. What precautions do I need to take to make sure they don't get sick from the Sevin?