While handling our two week old chicks today my daughter found chicken lice on them. We then checked the broody hen mama and she has them as well. Chicks a week older in a dog crate right next to them don't appear to have any. Our main flock which is out in the field in tractors and night and sem-free ranging during the day (very large moveable fence area and orchard) I will check tonight. But we have another broody hen out there who hasn't been looking great, and several of our hens have patches on their backs missing feathers. We though it was over breeding by the rooster, so we increased the number of hens and got rid of our extra rooster, but it's only gotten worse. We also tried saddles for about a month, but very little to no improvement. I removed the saddles. The rooster has also had issues with his comb. It seems to heal from his old fight with the other rooster, then the hens peck at the scabs. It's bad again lately, could be a separate issue.
I'm confused about the best and easiest way to treat this that's safe for the chicks. I'm very reluctant to use any sort of powder because of my daughter's respiratory issues. Is Elector PSP a safe treatment in this case? Thanks so much.
Posting a pic of the rooster and will add some photos of the hens missing feathers soon.
I'm confused about the best and easiest way to treat this that's safe for the chicks. I'm very reluctant to use any sort of powder because of my daughter's respiratory issues. Is Elector PSP a safe treatment in this case? Thanks so much.
Posting a pic of the rooster and will add some photos of the hens missing feathers soon.
I think I'll be feeding a lot of grub treats today to make up for the drama. Poor chickens.
