This will be long, but I want to give history and answer all questions I might create...
28 month old Isa Brown, total of 10 in flock, all bought at the same time one year ago; bought from a guy who said the chickens came from the Amish in IN or IL; doubt they were ever vaccinated or wormed; horrible conditions, one had broken toe, several with broken beaks, one cross beak, but my regular supplier had had a fire and was still shut down and it was the start of covid and really hard to find anyone selling chickens; we felt like we were definitely giving these chickens a better place to call home; since then- no newcomers, nothing new introduced, they spend their time outside free ranging within a fenced area of my back yard then come in to their coop at night; fed Purina layer feed; ground has been really saturated for weeks with all the snow and then constant rain (northern middle TN). I believe I might have more than one issue going on.
One chicken, Zebee, had trouble walking a few days ago; when she did walk, she would step on her own foot; now she can't even stand up; she has stopped eating or drinking; she is pooping completely runny white/yellow poop full of undigested grass (with a horrendous smell!) yet she hasn't eaten in two days; her comb is dark red and standing; her eyes are bright, she doesn't "look" sick. I brought her in last night to clean her up and examine her since she lays in her poop and was nasty. I did manage to get her to drink some water but she will eat nothing.
Definitely found one issue - once I got her cleaned I found hundreds of tiny brown bugs covering her rear. Assuming these are mite. I went to TSC and bought permethrin, sprayed her really well and left her wrapped in a towel and put her back in her nest box for the night. This morning, I re-examined and found a couple bugs still moving, so I will retreat. I checked two other chickens. One had only a couple mites, literally, then I checked another one and she was totally infested so I have my work planned today on getting the birds and the coop treated.
As for my sick bird, does it sound like she may be having something else causing her sickness/lameness instead of the mites? None of the others have stopped eating or drinking and none are lame. Everything I read says that if mites are killing your bird, they would should signs of anemia like pale combs but mine still has a bright bright comb and bright eyes. I assume these are mites. They are tiny tiny brown, moving specks. When we went into the coop last night to put Zebee back, I shined a light on several places and I can't see any bugs of any type moving on anything but I will still treat the coop.
At the risk of sounding cold hearted and callous- these chickens aren't pets. They are a source of eggs and I have no emotional attachment to them so I won't spend money on a vet bill for a $5 bird. I don't know how long a chicken will last without eating but I'm willing to try any home remedy I can. If I lose them all, I'll definitely consider a vet consult to figure out the problem, but until then, I'm looking for any suggestions any of you might have. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
*** Added since initial post - I just read where someone posted that mites typically don't live "on" the chicken, so should I assume these are lice? They are brown specks that I wouldn't know were living if I didn't see them move!
28 month old Isa Brown, total of 10 in flock, all bought at the same time one year ago; bought from a guy who said the chickens came from the Amish in IN or IL; doubt they were ever vaccinated or wormed; horrible conditions, one had broken toe, several with broken beaks, one cross beak, but my regular supplier had had a fire and was still shut down and it was the start of covid and really hard to find anyone selling chickens; we felt like we were definitely giving these chickens a better place to call home; since then- no newcomers, nothing new introduced, they spend their time outside free ranging within a fenced area of my back yard then come in to their coop at night; fed Purina layer feed; ground has been really saturated for weeks with all the snow and then constant rain (northern middle TN). I believe I might have more than one issue going on.
One chicken, Zebee, had trouble walking a few days ago; when she did walk, she would step on her own foot; now she can't even stand up; she has stopped eating or drinking; she is pooping completely runny white/yellow poop full of undigested grass (with a horrendous smell!) yet she hasn't eaten in two days; her comb is dark red and standing; her eyes are bright, she doesn't "look" sick. I brought her in last night to clean her up and examine her since she lays in her poop and was nasty. I did manage to get her to drink some water but she will eat nothing.
Definitely found one issue - once I got her cleaned I found hundreds of tiny brown bugs covering her rear. Assuming these are mite. I went to TSC and bought permethrin, sprayed her really well and left her wrapped in a towel and put her back in her nest box for the night. This morning, I re-examined and found a couple bugs still moving, so I will retreat. I checked two other chickens. One had only a couple mites, literally, then I checked another one and she was totally infested so I have my work planned today on getting the birds and the coop treated.
As for my sick bird, does it sound like she may be having something else causing her sickness/lameness instead of the mites? None of the others have stopped eating or drinking and none are lame. Everything I read says that if mites are killing your bird, they would should signs of anemia like pale combs but mine still has a bright bright comb and bright eyes. I assume these are mites. They are tiny tiny brown, moving specks. When we went into the coop last night to put Zebee back, I shined a light on several places and I can't see any bugs of any type moving on anything but I will still treat the coop.
At the risk of sounding cold hearted and callous- these chickens aren't pets. They are a source of eggs and I have no emotional attachment to them so I won't spend money on a vet bill for a $5 bird. I don't know how long a chicken will last without eating but I'm willing to try any home remedy I can. If I lose them all, I'll definitely consider a vet consult to figure out the problem, but until then, I'm looking for any suggestions any of you might have. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
*** Added since initial post - I just read where someone posted that mites typically don't live "on" the chicken, so should I assume these are lice? They are brown specks that I wouldn't know were living if I didn't see them move!
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