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amvanzyl

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My chicken started moving with difficulty. Thought it was old age. From yesterday she just sits, not eating. Checked her and seems like shes full of tiny long insects in her feathers. Dusted with Karbadust carbaryl. I give her water. She drinks but looks dying. I feel so bad for allowing this to happen!
 
I would give her a bath with anti-parasitic shampoo. Leave this shampoo sit on her for a few minutes. Use plenty of it. Make sure you blow dry her. You can get that from Tractor Supply for around $10. Then I would dust her again. I would also add a few drops of multi vitamin for birds to her water. You can pick that up from Walmart maybe Tractor Supply for $2.50 I think. If she seems weak give her canned cat food or can tuna fish and mash 1/3 Calcium pill in it. Calcium with Vitamin D in it is better if you have it. I would also pick up some Tetracycline at Tractor Supply.
 
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My chicken started moving with difficulty. Thought it was old age. From yesterday she just sits, not eating. Checked her and seems like shes full of tiny long insects in her feathers. Dusted with Karbadust carbaryl. I give her water. She drinks but looks dying. I feel so bad for allowing this to happen!

Welcome To BYC

Do you have any photos?
How old is your hen?
Does she still lay eggs - when was the last time she laid an egg?
Do you feel any swelling, bloat and fluid in her abdomen?
How does her crop feel - is it emptying?
Has she been wormed?

Dusting her for the lice/mites that you see is a good idea. Personally I would not give her a full out bath since she is weak and sick.

In older hens, internal laying/reproductive disorders like Egg Yolk Peritontis, Ascites, Salpingitis, cancer or tumors can be a common cause of lethargy, loss of mobility (limping/not using the legs), going off feed and weight loss, to name a few symptoms. Illness due to reproductive disorders usually are not responsive to antibiotic treatment, but you can try, most of the time supportive care is best.

IF she has any swelling of the abdomen, you can soak her lower half (abdomen) in a warm epsom salts bath, to see if this gives her any relief. Dry her well and keep her warm.

Keep her hydrated, add some poultry vitamins to her water. See if she will eat her normal food with some chopped egg or tuna mixed in (you can offer the food wet).

Let us know how she is doing.
 
My chicken started moving with difficulty. Thought it was old age. From yesterday she just sits, not eating. Checked her and seems like shes full of tiny long insects in her feathers. Dusted with Karbadust carbaryl. I give her water. She drinks but looks dying. I feel so bad for allowing this to happen!

The sevin dust should have killed the lice on contact. Please do not bathe her since you have already treated the lice (or mites) since giving a bath to a serious ill chicken may just put her over the edge. How does her crop feel-- empty, full, hard, or puffy? Try giving her water with a spoon to the side of her beak or by using a dropper. I have used a small cup held up to the beak. If she won't drink, then dip her beak intermittently, letting her swallow. Add SaveAChick electrolytes or us Poultry Nutridrench if you have them. Gatorade would work. Offer her bits of egg to eat, add water to her feed, and keep her warm and comfortable in a basket.
 
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She is still alive after 7.5 hours. Did not bath her, she sat comfy in a crate the whole day. I took her food and made little balls, opening her mouth, and she swallowed. Also electrolyte water the whole day with a syringe.

I have to dust the rest of my chicks now. I think she is about 5 years old minimum, and not sure who lays and who is lazy. They are my pets (with benefits). She seems stronger on the legs. As if she wants to stand up with a stronger will.

Luckily in South Africa we have summer, with day temps almost 40 degrees Celsius right now, and nights a bit cooler, so she won't die of cold.

Thankyou for all the advice!!!
 
It sounds like she is enjoying the tender loving care. Mites are much more serious than lice, since they can make a chicken so anemic that they can die. Lice are more of a nuisance. Carbaryl (Sevin) is effective, but has cancer-causing properties, so not approved in the US for poultry. I have used it for decades on other animals and more recently on chickens, but the risk is more with the humans using it. Permethrin 5-10% spray or the garden dust is preferred because it is safer to use. Permethrin 10% concentrate will make up to a 100 gallons. In summer weather the 5% spray is good to use on the chicken, then to treat coop, nest boxes, and roosts, I would use the 10%. Permethrin concentrate is found in the US at most feed supply stores, but I don't know how easy it is found in South Africa. Lice will require treatment again in 10 days, while mite eggs can hatch in 5-7 days, so I would treat those every 7 days until none are found. Here is some good information with pictures on how to tell lice from mites:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/08/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification.html
http://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8162.pdf

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permethrin_10__745801310339_c2_2.jpg
 
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Truly blessed to have found this site.
The lady passed last night late. Sad if it is a pet. I do however, have 4 more, so they got the Karbadust treatment when i got home yesterday. Think i got more on me than on them, but it is step one.
I built them a new home in December, and now all of a sudden we have the pests. I shall have to treat the place to ensure their optimum health.
Considering getting 2 new ladies, but just the thought of the introduction scares me - it takes months before they kind of accept the new residents. Is there a thread somewhere with a magic recipe to into of chickens without the murderous ways?
 
I'm sorry that she died. There are many posts about introducing new members if you go up to the search box on this page. It helps to be similar in size, and introduce more than one at a time together. I like to keep them penned or fenced off inside the coop from the other chickens for at least a week, so the new ones will know where they sleep and will return there in the evening to be locked up. They can see the other birds, but cannot fight or be picked on. Then, I let them out together outside to free range in the yard with supervision. There will be some pecking, but it usually works out.
 
Down here in SA we have warm weather, including winter, sometimes the odd icy winter. So our chickens stay in the same camp. I just built them an overnight facility should the rain and cold decide to ruffle their feathers. But my bunch are agro woman. Introducing same size chicks even after a year still fights! Appreciate the feedback and support. I shall be reading my way through this awesome site!
 
Truly blessed to have found this site.
The lady passed last night late. Sad if it is a pet. I do however, have 4 more, so they got the Karbadust treatment when i got home yesterday. Think i got more on me than on them, but it is step one.
I built them a new home in December, and now all of a sudden we have the pests. I shall have to treat the place to ensure their optimum health.
Considering getting 2 new ladies, but just the thought of the introduction scares me - it takes months before they kind of accept the new residents. Is there a thread somewhere with a magic recipe to into of chickens without the murderous ways?

Here's a few links that may help. My suggestion would be to read through them and cherry pick bits here and there that suit you and your setup.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/adding-to-your-flock

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/introducing-new-chickens-using-the-see-but-don-t-touch-method

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1098683/introducing-new-chickens-to-old-flock#post_16895615
 

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