Topic: It is starting again - poorly hens. What do I do?

[kt.]

Last year I posted this topic:

http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,41173.0.html

Having spent £70 and got hardly any eggs,  the hens all recovered after 5-6 months.  Now winter has passed, they are losing their feathers in the same way again.  It is in its early stages but is spreading rapidly.  I am thinking there is an infestation of sorts in the wood that has laid dormant over winter and waking as the weather is warming. 

I am getting 8-9 eggs daily from 10 hens but this will drop to 1 or 2 as they lose their feathers, probably within 4-6 weeks.  Faster if the weather warms rapid. 
My options are:

1)  Demolish the cree and build a new one would this do the trick but would the hens still carry it over?

2)  Cull the hens, demolish the shed and start all fresh. 

I do not intend to feed the hens again for 5 months for nothing.  All ideas welcome ??? ???

[kt.]

Maybe it is not redmite.  Today I collected the eggs from the nest box and one of the eggs appeared to have a saliva type substance on it.  This was crawling with about 30 tiny white insects that were about the size of a small dot.   Moving around the shell very rapidly.   Any ideas?

[labrat]

lice?

Could try Barrier Louse powder - http://www.barrier-biotech.com/product.php?pid=LP

Wash your hen house down with a steam cleaner (tool hire perhaps) or spray with Poultry Shield - http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/chickenhouses/Poultry-Shield-Red-Mite-Eradicator.html or Diatomaceous Earth power - http://www.solwayfeeders.com/productsdetail1.asp?STOCK_CODE=3200 or Stalosan F http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/chickenhouses/Stalosan_F_Disinfectant.html or Virkon S http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/chickenhouses/Virkon-Disinfectant.html

You seem to have it really bad so I'd suggest as a quick hit some pyrethrin - http://www.solwayfeeders.com/productsdetail1.asp?STOCK_CODE=3251

All these products will also take out other things like fleas and red mite etc.

The other thing to do would be to give them a bath in soapy water and gently rub through their feathers and skin just as a direct method of reducing the infestation before the other treatments.

In the end it is the chicken that are the carriers so no matter how clean the house is the chicken will reinfect it (as will local wildlife). The tactic that most bug control products use is to spray the house with something nasty that kills bugs but is persistent while you spray or dust the chickens with a safe bug repellent so that the bugs leave the chickens and come into contact with the hen house and are killed.

There was obviously a lot of advice in the original thread. At all times you need to keep some dry sand or Earth to dust bathe as well as some chicken grit and just get into a regular schedule of cleaning.

If that doesn't do it the only other choice is the vet.

[Peasticks]

Try to get your hands on some Poultry Shield - its very economical, make up a 20% solution in a spray bottle (a plunger type hand pressure sprayer would be ace but a trigger spray would also be fine) spray the liquid in every nook and cranny, do this early on a sunny morning then shut the pop hole to keep the chooks in their run and leave the house wide open - the sun helps break down the beasties.


You can also CAREFULLY blowtorch the inside of the house to kill the bugs (a person who relinquishes their right to sue says what?  ;D  ;))

red mite powder in the house and louse powder on the chooks too if I was you, also try Ivermectin which is apparently very good and used by top breeders although its not actually licenced for use on Poultry (take note and refer to the above sentence about not suing!)

Siliconing the gaps in your coop will help for the future

If its not a particularly expensive coop you could start with a fresh one I guess

[kt.]

If its not a particularly expensive coop you could start with a fresh one I guess

The cree was made of wood from a shed that was in the plot when I took it on over 5 years ago.  I think I will keep the hens until they have about stopped laying then cull them and burn the cree in situ once I demolish it. Having spent a fair bit last year I do not intend to buy loads more medicines again.  It would be just as cost effective to buy a new shed and hens.  Start over.  I would also only get 6 hens as opposed to my current 12.

[teresa]

with the hens you have, if you get a handfull of lice powder and hold the hen by the legs and sprinkle the powder around the vent over the tail feathers to under the wings around the body and rub it into the feathers do it once a week for a month to break the life cycle of the lice then once a month afterwards you should see a improvement.
Feathers will come back and happy hens lay eggs also sprinkle some powder in nest boxes on top of the straw or what ever you use

[gardentg44]

I always make up a big vat of jeyes fluid & duramitiex,

spray out the hen hut then dunk the chickens in it

up to there heads.

that will get rid of all fleas,mites,etc