- Mar 3, 2013
- 17
- 1
- 24
A week and a half ago I knew I had a few sick chickens but not that at least 4 of my 9 hens were, what I now believe to be, deathly ill. Nor did I know that they were all infested with lice.
For about 2 days I looked up everything I could about the lice, because that was the first thing I realized was wrong and needed to be dealt with immediately. After reading the thread here called lice!!! ( https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/433402/lice ) I decided to try the Virgin Coconut Oil method. Watching those suckers die before my eyes was gratifying because I wasn't really sure it was going to work. I still need to go check and retreat my girls but at least I know it will work.
As I was treating them all, I started to realize that the respiratory problems I had been keeping my eye on were a lot worse than I thought they were. One sounded like her whole body rattled with congestion, a few wheezed and one or two had very swollen faces and a couple of them had combs and wattles that were almost purple. After another BYC search I found that they were not getting enough O2. I checked them for gape worms and found nothing. THANK GOD! One thing I would NOT have to treat them for. I immediately decided to put them on 7-10 days treatment with an antibiotic that I purchased from my local feed store and keep them in their coop for the duration so they could not have access to any water without the antibiotic in it. A few of them that I could get my hands on were hand watered with a syringe because they looked THAT bad.
It is 6 days later and all of them have normal colored combs/wattles. The rasping chicken sounds totally normal and they all have as much energy as they can in 100 degree weather. I really thought I was going to lose my chickens- at least some of them. It is with a lot of relief and satisfaction, that though I still barely know anything about keeping chickens (the more I learn the more I realize I hardly know anything), I have successfully nursed them back to health.
I am incredibly thankful for BYC because though sometimes I have to dig pretty deep for the info, there have always been answers here to help me solve my chicken problems!
For about 2 days I looked up everything I could about the lice, because that was the first thing I realized was wrong and needed to be dealt with immediately. After reading the thread here called lice!!! ( https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/433402/lice ) I decided to try the Virgin Coconut Oil method. Watching those suckers die before my eyes was gratifying because I wasn't really sure it was going to work. I still need to go check and retreat my girls but at least I know it will work.
As I was treating them all, I started to realize that the respiratory problems I had been keeping my eye on were a lot worse than I thought they were. One sounded like her whole body rattled with congestion, a few wheezed and one or two had very swollen faces and a couple of them had combs and wattles that were almost purple. After another BYC search I found that they were not getting enough O2. I checked them for gape worms and found nothing. THANK GOD! One thing I would NOT have to treat them for. I immediately decided to put them on 7-10 days treatment with an antibiotic that I purchased from my local feed store and keep them in their coop for the duration so they could not have access to any water without the antibiotic in it. A few of them that I could get my hands on were hand watered with a syringe because they looked THAT bad.
It is 6 days later and all of them have normal colored combs/wattles. The rasping chicken sounds totally normal and they all have as much energy as they can in 100 degree weather. I really thought I was going to lose my chickens- at least some of them. It is with a lot of relief and satisfaction, that though I still barely know anything about keeping chickens (the more I learn the more I realize I hardly know anything), I have successfully nursed them back to health.
I am incredibly thankful for BYC because though sometimes I have to dig pretty deep for the info, there have always been answers here to help me solve my chicken problems!
