white hard stuff on feathers/losing feathers/white stuff in eyes

[mdorsett13]

Help! we are new to the chicken thing and we have 3 easter eggers and one road island red. One of our easter egger has a nasty feather problem. White hard stuff all over the place and losing feathers around the face and on the back, all over. It also has white bubbles in the front of both eyes. The chicken looks wet all the time, she might be. she keeps sticking her head in the water and getting it everywhere. I just noticed today that another one of our easter eggers is losing feathers around the face. that is the same way the other one started. any ideas would be great.

 

[purpletree23]

I'm not sure but I would say that they have a very bad case of lice. The poor chicken who is dipping her head in the water is trying to get relief. I would give them a bath and use a good flea and tick shampoo to get them started on the road to recovery.

Others will have more ideas for you but I think the bath will be a quick way to knock down the population a lot and make the chickens feel better.

 

[Imp]

Maybe this will help

Imp

http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0018.html

 

[threehorses]

Agreed it sounds like lice. I'd use a permethrin dust on them - m ake sure it's permethrin. Use the same dust in their bedding and nestboxes.

Repeat in 7 days twice.

The permethrin dust is sold as "poultry dust", "livestock lice powder', etc. Just check the active ingredient for "permethrin" (some chemicals sound alike - I just write the name down).

Even though it's in a shaker can, I shake the powder in small amounts into my hand - and then use that to 'powder' the bird all up under the feathers, etc. You waste less that way I've found - and you can really ruffle it all up into the feathers. Be sure to really get it around the vent, under the wings, under the belly, back of neck.

For around the head, you can actually use Adam's flea and tick mist - carefully. I put it on a papertowel corner and rub into the 'beard', by the ears, the top of the head. Use a different papertowel and cover the eyes beak -spray it at the back of the head and ruffle it into the feathers there.