Ideas for treating sick/injured chooks

[Nikki Dillon]

We went out this afternoon and found Mavis Orpington limping! We've had a good look and couldn't see anything amiss. She's still eating and drinking and was keen to get out and about, so hopefully she's not in too much pain. Has anyone experienced this before? I think we'll leave her for a day or two then maybe go to the vet....

[Jocelyn]

Hi Nikki
I hope your Mavis has come right. Altho' I don't have Orpingtons (just good old brown shavers) one of my girls was favouring one side. I found that it was because she seemed to be affected by mites & had been trying to rid herself of them by madly dust bathing on one side. I wondered if she had strained herself!! Like you I left her & she now seems ok. I have since been dosing her for mites with a garlic concoction as I want to be organic but not sure that it's working. Have you had a problem with mites & if so what did you use? Maybe some others out there in the backyard chook world have some suggestions for mite control??

[Nikki Dillon]

Hi Jocelyn. Mavis is still limping but nowhere near as badly, and still eating and drinking as usual. I took her to the vet (he thought I was nuts!) and he wondered if it was Merek's disease, which apparently presents in paralysis and eventual death and can spread to other chooks. Now a week on, it obviously isn't that, thank goodness - maybe you're right. We wondered if she had damaged herself somehow. She's very big and heavy with huge feet - perhaps she fell over herself getting out of the nest box! We hadn't thought of mites but I guess the vet would have noticed an infestation. May be she's shamming it to get attention! It's certainly worked - the kids have picked all the caterpillars off my cabbages to give to her!

[Janet Luke]

Hi Jocelyn, My chickens havent had a mite problem but i understand if it is really bad you can wrap neem soaked rags around their legs for a day. Also scrub the perches and all cracks etc with neem oil. The mites live in the cracks and come out at night while chickens are perching. I use derris dust (natural product ) to treat for lice, seems to work well.

[Denise]

Hi there,

I've found a little cider vinegar in the water helps with mites and lice. The chooks need it added in tiny bits tho because they dont like it to start with but it seems to give them a natural boost...might just be an old wives tail but we dont have a problem with mites etc (touch wood!)

Denise

[Nikki Dillon]

Hi Denise
Do you put cider vinegar in the water every day or just from time to time? Is it just a drop or so? And how do you know when a mite problem is a problem? I haven't noticed anything but I'm not sure I would know what to look for. The chooks do enjoy a dust bath but don't seem to be scratching or preening more than usual.
Mavis's limp has nearly gone, by the way. They're all enjoying the falling persimmons!

[Denise]

Hi Nikki,

Mites are little critters that tend to do their work at night. They suck the chicken's blood and are easier to see once they have fed because they are a darker colour. Their bites are itchy and you will see your birds scratching a lot more if they are a problem. Mites live in the bedding and on the birds and you can see the eggs on feathers as well as mites on the skin if you part the feathers esp in the warm places, like under wings

I do the cider vinegar (and garlic) in the water more as a prevention thing and to boost their general health. I had thought that I'd never really had a mite problem but after looking at this site

http://www.backyardchickens.com/LC-mites.html

I recognise that my birds currently have scaly leg mite, and I now wonder if the cider vinegar etc does anything to mites at all!

I do change the bedding quite often and scrub out the nesting box quite regularly though and I think that sort of hygiene really helps

I'm going to follow these ideas and see if it works on their legs - that is if I can catch them and hold them still long enough!

[John Howard]

hi Denise, my girls arn't laying and i asumed it was because they were in molt. they also have a bit of dry flaky skin/ scales coming of there legs. is there a posability this could be mites and would this stop them laying?

[Jocelyn]

Great to hear that Mavis has come right. I think she may have been shamming as I've found mine tend to be right old drama queens! Don't like the sound of Merek's disease so hope I can keep that at bay. My four girls are just dandy now - I think the garlic spray helped.

Nikki Dillon said:

Hi Jocelyn. Mavis is still limping but nowhere near as badly, and still eating and drinking as usual. I took her to the vet (he thought I was nuts!) and he wondered if it was Merek's disease, which apparently presents in paralysis and eventual death and can spread to other chooks. Now a week on, it obviously isn't that, thank goodness - maybe you're right. We wondered if she had damaged herself somehow. She's very big and heavy with huge feet - perhaps she fell over herself getting out of the nest box! We hadn't thought of mites but I guess the vet would have noticed an infestation. May be she's shamming it to get attention! It's certainly worked - the kids have picked all the caterpillars off my cabbages to give to her!

[Jocelyn]

Yes, neem is a great natural remedy for many things in the garden. I was a little reluctant to use with the chooks as it can be quite powerful but will do so when it comes to the cleaning of the house. So far it's pretty clean as it's relatively newly made by my own fair hand!
Thanks for sharing the neem oil idea.
I've been using a very watered down mix of bokashi liquid in their water trough & they seem to be doing well on it. Mind you it could be the daily supplement of warm mash & molasses! Their feathers are shiny & they are still laying daily - damn marvellous considering the weather we've had down here in Christchurch.

Janet Luke said:

Hi Jocelyn, My chickens havent had a mite problem but i understand if it is really bad you can wrap neem soaked rags around their legs for a day. Also scrub the perches and all cracks etc with neem oil. The mites live in the cracks and come out at night while chickens are perching. I use derris dust (natural product ) to treat for lice, seems to work well.

[Nikki Dillon]

Hi Jocelyn,
What is bokashi liquid and where do I get it? And the mash and molasses sounds good too - can I have you recipe? What spoilt chooks we have! Mine look so gorgeous strutting around in the autumn leaves; I can forgive them the scarcity of eggs.