The Chickens are Restless... why?

[MIChickandGuinea]

I look at every bird, unless I find a bug, then I stop and treat them all.
I look at night with a bright headlight, easier for me to catch and to see.
I would wipe undersides anyway, they may flee out of sight at your light.

OK... so most definitely a nighttime thing. Most of the bantams are still too skittish to be caught.

Do you ever just preventively treat the whole flock? In case you missed seeing a bug? There are lots of feathers, and some of the ladies were not at all interested in the bird examination experience. I feel like I got a decent look at 4-5 birds, but I wouldn’t want to swear in court that my birds are all bug-free.

 

[aart]

Do you ever just preventively treat the whole flock? In case you missed seeing a bug? There are lots of feathers, and some of the ladies were not at all interested in the bird examination experience.

Never preventively treat, only if I see a louse or mite(haven't had mites here, but plenty of lice).
I mostly just look around the vents, if they have bugs that's where you will see them.
It is hard to part the feathers to see the skin, no doubt about it.
Gets easier with practice, but never fun, for sure.
Some of them will hold still on roost and I never have to grab them.
I have a chair in coop shed to sit on and wear an longish apron that forms a sling between my thighs, and cradle them on their back there, sometimes I use a small hand towel to cover their heads if they don't calm with their wings confined, then I can use both hands to parts feathers. It would be much easier to do if I had someone to hold bird while I searched.

 

[MIChickandGuinea]

Is there a way to reduce the likelihood of lice or mites getting established? My uncle is an avian vet and he captured most of my birds and looked them over for lice/mites when he visited in March. He said they were clean at that time. And I am not seeing any on the birds I’ve checked. So ... any way to make us less likely to get infested?

 

[centrarchid]

Oh....If you have lots of mosquitoes, that could be it. I run a fan in my coop to stir the air.

This one I would give particular attention.

 

[aart]

Is there a way to reduce the likelihood of lice or mites getting established? My uncle is an avian vet and he captured most of my birds and looked them over for lice/mites when he visited in March. He said they were clean at that time. And I am not seeing any on the birds I’ve checked. So ... any way to make us less likely to get infested?

Keep wild birds away, that's where the lice and mites can come from. I stopped feeding wild birds around the time I got chickens, no sense in drawing them to the yard (and the hawks that like to eat them, even tho my birds are confined).
When I 'toss' scratch in run I spread it out in a line way from edges and in the open, so chooks can get it all leaving none for wild birds, or rodents, to dine upon.
Don't get adult birds, that's where the lice and scaly leg mites came from here.

 

[April’s Zoo]

Along with putting screen over the windows and other openings.... on the doorway you can hang overlapping strips of screen down from the top of the door. Whether to attach them on the inside or the outside of the doorway depends on how your door opens/closes.
I would cut strips approx. 3–4 inches wide and overlap them by about 1/3 that width— don’t forget the overlap on the sides, too. So as an example, if you have a 12-inch wide doorway, and use 3-inch wide strips... you would need 7 strips... to account for a 1-inch overlap, you would need 6 just to go across the exact width of the door.... plus one more so there will be overlap at the edges.
You can use a staple gun to attach them at the top of the door, and make them long enough that there’s no gap at the bottom. When you are done, you’ll have created a curtain across the doorway that will still allow the chickens to go in and out of the coop whenever they want to.

 

[aart]

Along with putting screen over the windows and other openings.... on the doorway you can hang overlapping strips of screen down from the top of the door. Whether to attach them on the inside or the outside of the doorway depends on how your door opens/closes.
I would cut strips approx. 3–4 inches wide and overlap them by about 1/3 that width— don’t forget the overlap on the sides, too. So as an example, if you have a 12-inch wide doorway, and use 3-inch wide strips... you would need 7 strips... to account for a 1-inch overlap, you would need 6 just to go across the exact width of the door.... plus one more so there will be overlap at the edges.
You can use a staple gun to attach them at the top of the door, and make them long enough that there’s no gap at the bottom. When you are done, you’ll have created a curtain across the doorway that will still allow the chickens to go in and out of the coop whenever they want to.

Got a pic of this?