carenb Posted August 7, 2008 Share Posted August 7, 2008 My little Peppa, Black sussex died today. I had found a couple of lice in her feathers, and only a couple of lice, no eggs (nits) that I could see. She did have one worm in her poo and I used flubenvet on all 4 of my birds. I did the red mite powder and the diatrom powder along with flubenvet for any worms (wanted to get my girls clean and healthy). they are all usually so clean and peppa started getting dirty knickers, so I was watching her. Whenever I picked her up, she was always thinner than the other 3, but I thought that was the way she was made . There was also the runny yellow frothy poos -but I thought that the Worming treatment may get rid of that. I am new to this chicken keeping and obviously haven't been as vigilant as I maybe should have been. Anyway, after my explaination, I do have a question... or couple: the worms could have made her underweight - because I didn't treat her quick enough, then the lice would have irritated her, she was so very weak. I bought her some tuna kitten food today to build her up, but was too late when I got home could the lice have killed her on their own ? it definately wasn't red mite. What else could I have done ? What should I do to protect my other 3 girls ? I feel really guilty and apologise to anyone who knows this could have been avoided. Sorry. Caren Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted August 7, 2008 Share Posted August 7, 2008 Sad news Caren, I'm sorry to hear it. I doubt that one or two lice would kill her, whereas a serious infestation would be a different matter. I wonder if she had an infection, in view of the yellow frothy diarrhoea? Why not have a chat with the breeder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandychick Posted August 7, 2008 Share Posted August 7, 2008 I feel really guilty and apologise to anyone who knows this could have been avoided. Sorry. Caren Very sad news Don't feel guilty, sounds like Peppa was well looked after and you certainly tried everything I would have thought of. Do the others seem ok?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Posted August 7, 2008 Share Posted August 7, 2008 Sorry to hear your news caren and sorry that you feel you need to apologise. You certainly dont ! When I was freaking out about nits and lice I was reassured by our poultry guys that if there was an infestation you would certainly know about it. You would have been able to feel them crawling up your arms with just a couple of minutes of handling her. It does sound like something else was troubling her and the frothy poo might have been a factor to this. Keep an eye on the others and know that you did everything you could have done. troy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahJo Posted August 7, 2008 Share Posted August 7, 2008 Sad news - don't over analyse, if all the other hens are in good health, then it was probably a combination of things. Sometimes chooks just "go" and are very good at disguising illness. If the others are all vaccinated/wormed etc, then just maybe keep them topped up with diatom/poultry spice. Also thoroughly clean living area and feed/water containers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carenb Posted August 7, 2008 Author Share Posted August 7, 2008 Thank you all for your kind words. the others do seem fine, but one had a frothy poo this evening.. .but otherwise very healthy. No sign of lice or worms, all eating and drinking well. they are vaccinated and wormed and I have ordered some poultry spice yesterday. I will have a word with the breeder - thanks for the suggestion egultine. It wasn't an infestation Troy, i had to really search for the lice... but this morning - she was covered in dead lice, so they were well hidden, but no infested... so the johnson spray obviously worked well. I will be keeping a very keen eye on the other girls and will be waiting a couple of weeks before replacing. My 4 year old was a bit upset - but just asked if we can get another 'peppa' ! innocence is fabulous. thank you all again, didn't expect a trauma this early on in my chicken keeping experience (only being going a couple of months). Caren. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickvic Posted August 7, 2008 Share Posted August 7, 2008 Sorry to hear about Peppa Hope you're other girls are ok, I'm sure you did nothing wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted August 7, 2008 Share Posted August 7, 2008 Sorry to hear about Peppa . I echo what others have said, I'm sure it's not your fault. You sound like a very caring chicken mum . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenanne Posted August 8, 2008 Share Posted August 8, 2008 I'd sugget definitely not the lice - just not possible. There's all sorts of things it could be which wouldn't be in your control; also, sick and injured chickens often look perfectly happy until too much internal damage has been done, and really there's not much of a clue for the chicken-keeper that trouble is brewing in some instances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carenb Posted August 8, 2008 Author Share Posted August 8, 2008 Thanks chickenanne, that puts my mind at rest. I'm now paranoid about everything. George - my white sussex, is slightly underweight, so I'm keeping a close eye on her, have just made some tuna, bokashi, garlic powder and spagetti mix - they have all gone mad for it !!! george has a very twitchy tail/vent area - I have checked and there are no lice/flies etc - is this a common thing - or a pre-cursor to something else. Caren. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
