The road less traveled...back to good health! They have lice, mites, scale mites, worms, anemia, gl

[Beekissed]

Well, that blows that theory out of the water. How about your proteins....feeding more protein right now? I'll tell you the reason I ask...I've free ranged birds for a long time and never had one with sores on the feet until I got these birds back from The Place. Several of them had sores or old sores in various stages of healing and they were confined to a pen, so no way of getting injuries on stones or such.

When I saw what they had been roosting on, I kind of figured it was the roosts...ladder roosts with small width boards that were set at an angle, making the actual roosting surface a small, pointy surface. Then I realized they were feeding hog feed to them and I checked out the usual percentage of protein in hog mash and it's around 22%.

When I did some research on bumble foot, I found one vet site that stated feeding higher proteins could cause gout and resulting sores on the feet of birds. So, I'm not sure if it was the roosts or the proteins my birds were getting that caused those sores but I just never knew chickens to have so many sores on their feet like folks on here describe and was just wondering if it's nutritional, environmental or what.

 

[lbchickens9]

I'm new and would like to know what the ashes do for your birds? I have two chickens that I'm treating for mite. Would this help?

Best of luck with your babies.

 

[delisha]

This evening as the chickens went in to roost I started looking at feet, I had one a couple weeks ago that had the dreaded scab on the bottom of her foot, not swelled or red but it got me concerned so I washed it real good then applied Nu stock did it more more time a couple days later, nothing now completely gone. So tonight I examined the other found 2 more of my hens with the blk scab one with a little swelling, so i brought them inside washed the foot then applied Nu stock I'll check again in a few days but expect to find it all cleared up as well. That is some awesome stuff, Living in the mountains we have so many rocks it seems the ground just gives birth to them, I try to keep them clean up but in about a week there they are again, My girls will jump onto the gate to get out of the fenced area to forage and when they jump down they hit rocks I am amazed more don't have problems. So I've gone from looking at poop to looking at feet,

lol...now Bee is going to say..stop looking at feet!
Naa looking at feet on a regular basis is good animal husbandry. I do not do it enough. I probably only do it when I see some one scratching and I am looking for bugs. One scratches, and I start looking. I am having a heck of a time with mites this fall..never had them before. Nasty lil critters. The ash is simply not working. I have douced them three times and Neemed the poles and roosts. No lice..but dang mites.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Well, that blows that theory out of the water. How about your proteins....feeding more protein right now? I'll tell you the reason I ask...I've free ranged birds for a long time and never had one with sores on the feet until I got these birds back from The Place. Several of them had sores or old sores in various stages of healing and they were confined to a pen, so no way of getting injuries on stones or such.

When I saw what they had been roosting on, I kind of figured it was the roosts...ladder roosts with small width boards that were set at an angle, making the actual roosting surface a small, pointy surface. Then I realized they were feeding hog feed to them and I checked out the usual percentage of protein in hog mash and it's around 22%.

When I did some research on bumble foot, I found one vet site that stated feeding higher proteins could cause gout and resulting sores on the feet of birds. So, I'm not sure if it was the roosts or the proteins my birds were getting that caused those sores but I just never knew chickens to have so many sores on their feet like folks on here describe and was just wondering if it's nutritional, environmental or what.

Bee I don't think it's nutritional they all get Flock Raiser which is I believe 22% protein but I cut that with wheat ,whole oats, split peas and cracked corn, I honestly think it jumping down off the gate on to the rocks, rocky ground. We just live on rocky ground I'd hate to have to walk barefoot out there for any length of time. Out of 17 chickens only 2 plus the one girl I treated a couple times before had this so it's not as bad as it could be. Thank goodness. Also check my ducks and geese feet regularly too.

 

[Miss Lydia]

lol...now Bee is going to say..stop looking at feet!
Naa looking at feet on a regular basis is good animal husbandry. I do not do it enough. I probably only do it when I see some one scratching and I am looking for bugs. One scratches, and I start looking. I am having a heck of a time with mites this fall..never had them before. Nasty lil critters. The ash is simply not working. I have douced them three times and Neemed the poles and roosts. No lice..but dang mites.

I was battling mites in Aug. way before i found this thread, I used Epernix pour on on all my flock did the spraying with Premise spray then in 10 days did it again to only have them come back, so this time a friend told me to use Frontline which I did, used the premise spray again, then came across this thread and instead of using the stuff again in 10 days i did the Nustock on the legs and vent area and the Neem oil on the roosts and in the cracks on the wall of the coop. So far so good. I know what you mean about seeing one scratch, I will snatch one up in a minute if I see one scratch and give them the once over. I hate mites. I hope you can get rid of them.

 

[Beekissed]

lol...now Bee is going to say..stop looking at feet!
Naa looking at feet on a regular basis is good animal husbandry. I do not do it enough. I probably only do it when I see some one scratching and I am looking for bugs. One scratches, and I start looking. I am having a heck of a time with mites this fall..never had them before. Nasty lil critters. The ash is simply not working. I have douced them three times and Neemed the poles and roosts. No lice..but dang mites.

It seems to help to use the NS on all the places not covered with feathers for some reason. I don't know what kind of mites you have but those reporting success with getting rid of them have combined the two treatments like I did and have had no more problems. I think the NS killed the nits and the ash smothered the adults.

 

[thedragonlady]

Well, that blows that theory out of the water. How about your proteins....feeding more protein right now? I'll tell you the reason I ask...I've free ranged birds for a long time and never had one with sores on the feet until I got these birds back from The Place. Several of them had sores or old sores in various stages of healing and they were confined to a pen, so no way of getting injuries on stones or such.

When I saw what they had been roosting on, I kind of figured it was the roosts...ladder roosts with small width boards that were set at an angle, making the actual roosting surface a small, pointy surface. Then I realized they were feeding hog feed to them and I checked out the usual percentage of protein in hog mash and it's around 22%.

When I did some research on bumble foot, I found one vet site that stated feeding higher proteins could cause gout and resulting sores on the feet of birds. So, I'm not sure if it was the roosts or the proteins my birds were getting that caused those sores but I just never knew chickens to have so many sores on their feet like folks on here describe and was just wondering if it's nutritional, environmental or what.

I would think that the roosts were the primary irritant, and the filth invaded the abraised skin on the feet.

 

[delisha]

This is my first time with mites. They are not always visible on them, but they are little tiny things that are like a rusty red. I seen it one one of the chickens a couple of months ago. I ashed the whole coop. I re-ashed a week later. I checked them again when I see them scratching last month. That is when I went and bought Neem Oil. I ashed again, neemed the coop and a week later I re-ashed. Well today I seen one on a chicken when I seen her scratching. I am having another ash party tomorrow, I guess I will use the NuStock. I did not see any nits at all. Just one tiny little red bug scampering. I assume they all have them and if I seen one she has a hundred I did not see. I looked at a few more and did not see any, but that means nothing. Usually them buggers don't stay on a chicken do they? Thought they lived in the coop. I must have brought them in when I put in new
branches. I did not treat the branches dangit. I cut them down and stuck them in the coop.

 

[thedragonlady]

This is my first time with mites. They are not always visible on them, but they are little tiny things that are like a rusty red. I seen it one one of the chickens a couple of months ago. I ashed the whole coop. I re-ashed a week later. I checked them again when I see them scratching last month. That is when I went and bought Neem Oil. I ashed again, neemed the coop and a week later I re-ashed. Well today I seen one on a chicken when I seen her scratching. I am having another ash party tomorrow, I guess I will use the NuStock. I did not see any nits at all. Just one tiny little red bug scampering. I assume they all have them and if I seen one she has a hundred I did not see. I looked at a few more and did not see any, but that means nothing. Usually them buggers don't stay on a chicken do they? Thought they lived in the coop. I must have brought them in when I put in new
branches. I did not treat the branches dangit. I cut them down and stuck them in the coop.

You need to re-treat at 10 day intervals..the birds, and the coops, for 2 cycles at least. Those little bugs are blood suckers, and will pull a chicken down in the winter in a hurry. You can look up the life cycle of fowl mites on Google .Dust ,or ashes in a coop will not get them. You must use something that penetrates the wood, where they hide, when not doing a Dracula number on your birds.

 

[normanack]

Dumb question.
How does a chicken scratch? And where can they reach?
Do they scratch with their feet, beak, or both?