Treated for mites and lice and found barred rock almost dead this morning.

[LOOHOO60]

Treated the coop with sevin yesterday and put it on the chickens too. This morning went to the coop and found my barred rock laying on the floor with shallow breathing. It had been below zero the night before and she had feather loss on her back. Lost another hen 3 days ago and that is why we treated the coop and hes for mites and lice. Any ideas???? Now she has passed...

 

[willowbranchfarm]

Sorry for your loss. It sounds like the lice infestation was bad and wasn't treated soon enough so it killed them.

 

[Sunflower]

Aw I'm so sorry for your loss!! I've been told that if a chicken has lice and mites pretty bad it can really do a number on the birds, weakening them. So when you add the cold weather that can be the final straw on their systems. They need a dust bath area so they can knock the critters off. I think that the cold weather make the lice worse. It happened to me too, before I knew it, the lice where pretty bad on some of my girls. It's always a battle. Again, so sorry to hear of their passing.

 

[LOOHOO60]

I did not realize that mites and or lice could kill them. I just thought they were a nusiance. I feel bad about this. I didn't even know it was mites or lice at first either. I thought my roosters were breeding them to much and that was causing the feather loss. This hen that passed today had had feather loss now for about 5 months. I was told it was probly the rooster.

 

[Sunflower]

We all do the best we can, it's a learning experience for those of us who don't have a lot of experience with chickens and I'm sure even people with years of experience are sometimes stumped. Hopefully this forum will help others researching and maybe they'll read from your experience on things to do differently. Don't beat yourself up!

 

[Eggcessive]

Feather loss on their back saddle area is fairly common from over breeding. That doesn't mean lice and mites. It is good to look at pictures on what lice eggs and mite droppings actually look like, before you treat them. Sevin dust is pretty strong stuff and can affect the lungs. Many recommend using the spray. I would make them a big dust bathing area in the run with loose dirt and add a bunch of wood ash from a fireplace to have year round. The wood ash is really good at helping the chickens keep the cooties off them by themselves without using a lot of chemical. However if you do have mites you will need to clean out your entire coop and apply something such as neem oil or just paint to the roosts to smother the mites in the wood.

 

[farmlife]

Wow, something new to worry about. What is a dirt bath by the way? I've just started having chickens about a month ago when we moved to Morriston, fl. They are free roaming and go in their coop at night. What else should I look for other than lice?

 

[Eggcessive]

Dirt or dust bathing is what a chicken does to clean their skin and feathers. They will eventually dig little areas in the ground, and roll around throwing dirt up on themselves looking like they are taking a bath. They will even dust bathe as chicks in the pine shavings in the brooder. If you place wood ashes in the dirt, it helps to repel lice and mites. I would use the search engine at the top of the page to look at pics of lice and eggs, mites and droppings.

 

[willowbranchfarm]

Dust bathing is when chickens well bath in dirt, sand, etc. Mites are also a problem.

 

[farmlife]

Thanks, just so happens that we have a fire pit in the yard and I've seen the hens rolling in the ashes. I did'nt realize they were cleaning themselves I enjoy watching the chickens. Never thought I'd be on a chicken web site.