What makes a chicken coop easy to live with?

[chickiepiggies]

I have notice the past week my ex-bat Baby has been looking quite slow and off her food, but still goes made for treats, she had slowed down compared to the other 3 running about like mad hens as they do! she's not hunched and tail it up.

 

i gave her a check over this morning and notice little BLACK things moving around by her bum i immediately got the red mite powder out and gave her a good going over with it, also did the others while i was at it.

 

i intend to jet wash the cube tonight for them and give it a good clean.

 

my questions are:

 

she looks a little sore underneath and slightly dirty which i notice the other day should i give her a bath to clean it up or wait a few days?

 

will the red mite powder work on the little black things which i think are lice?

 

they have a bale of straw in the pen they scratch at it and jump and sit on it could this cauce the mites/lice?

 

this is the first time i come across these little things in the 1 year I've had them.

 

i feel a little guilty i did not notice her bum sooner, little Baby looks quite sore and down in the dumps poor little thing. Bad chickie mommy!!

 

sorry to go on any advice?

thanks

[jellykelly]

I found lice on mine and used the advice given on here. I was advised to treat birds with Johnsons anti mite spray. I sprayed each hen around the bum, legs and under wings. Treatment will be repeated in 5 days.

 

I also scrubbed their house, sprayed with poultry shield, powdered the house with red mite and liouse powder and also made the girls a dust bath with louse and redmite powder in it.

 

No nasty little critter is going to want to go near my hens!!

[Egluntyne]

There are two recent threads already running on this topic.

 

**click**

 

and

 

**click**

 

Straw can harbour parasites, so I don't use it.

 

I suggest you use the Johnson's spray as detailed in the other threads.