Urgent, please help my hen!

[ErinG]

For lice/mites check around her vent and her head. I would think you could see them, or see droppings or eggs. I would just wait to worm with an actual wormer. Don't you just wish they could talk and tell you what's wrong? So hard to trouble shoot. I would be hesitant to just start dousing her in chemicals without really knowing what's wrong, she's already very weak and wormers/chemical dusts, antibiotics etc. are all hard on them.

 

[aubreynoramarie]

I sure don't have flea or tick soap because we font have fleas or ticks in out region. They sell it at the store though so I'll get some. I already had to bathe her once to get the crusted poop off her butt and I didn't blow dry, I just put her out on the deck in the shade since it's 100* out

 

[aubreynoramarie]

Quote:
No mites on the head or vent. She is very pale. It must be worms. If she makes it through today and tomorrow then I can get to the feed store after work or during lunch.

 

[Hippie Chicks Mom]

Good Luck!!!!!

 

[NorthTexaschick]

Oh, I sure hope you can get her treated in time. So sorry you're in this situation where you can't get meds for her today.

 

[chkn]

Symptoms of a chicken with intestinal worms are as follows

watery runny droppings
loss of appetite
ceasing of egg laying
dehydration
going off alone
loss of balance (due to weakness from a heavy infestation)
dull comb,wattles and eyes

http://madbushfarm.blogspot.com/2009/03/chicken-worms-brief-guide.html

 

[coldinnh]

wouldn't you be able to see worms in the stool? I mean if they have that much of a load that? I am facing a similar issue with one of my leghorns... droopy comb, lack of appetite,etc. but her eyes are open and bright.

 

[myhubbycallsmechickeemama]

I know that I've read somewhere that cayenne pepper is used to treat worms. I'm sure you could do a google search and find doses and directions. Just something to start right now and maybe give her a little bit of a fighting chance. So sorry!!!

 

[chkn]

Honestly with the round worms I've only seen them when the chicken's died. With the tapes? Yeah, I finally identified them a few months back after 15 years of raising chickens. I'm sure my chickens have always had worms. I'm sure many have died due to lack of my knowing. I know all chickens have worms no matter what anyone says even the vet. What most people here will say is you won't see them unless they've got a real heavy load. Meanwhile, those things are inside damaging/invading internal organs including the lungs and stealing nutrients.

 

[PoultryPedia]

Dawn dish soap is supposed to be pretty good at killing mites. I used it to bathe some hens that had chicken mites the other day. A number of the mites rinsed off the birds. I think it was mostly from water-saturation/drowning from the long "shower", though.

For a chicken with tiny Northern fowl mites, I have submerged the bird up to the top of its neck in a plastic bin of warm water. Before submerging the bird in the water, wet its neck & the top of its head. Massaging some soap suds into the feathers around the top of the neck is also good. This will help discourage the mites from fleeing up the neck for "dry ground" when you mostly-dunk the bird (I learned this while bathing dogs at a kennel). Keep the bird submerged for a couple minutes. It should relax well while resting in the warm water.

This worked wonderfully for me on the Northern fowl mites--They rinsed off dead in droves when I shower-rinsed the chicken in the tub afterward. I imagine it would also work well with chicken mites.

---------------------------------------------
If you can avoid it, I wouldn't give your hen a mite-ridding bath when she's weak because of the extra stress, unless you're sure she's swamped with mites. You can check some of her coopmates for mites. If she had them, they will.