Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: wardy on July 14, 2015, 19:26
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Hi everyone, just wondering if anybody knows why a lot of my girls have bald bottoms? They are happy and laying well.
Thank you all :)
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Have you been watching them? My two wyandottes are called Fluffybum and Baldybum, for obvious reasons! :tongue2: Fluffy attacks Baldy and plucks out her feathers. :ohmy: We have separated them for a few days to allow Baldy to regrow her rear end. ;)
It may be that yours are self-plucking because of mites, heat, or being bullied... :(
I hope that they regrow soon and your girls live together in harmony!
Best of luck,
C
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Get hold of them and have a close look.
If they are feather pecking then you can keep them interested in something else by giving them a whole, hard cabbage to peck at rather than each other. Free ranging time is also a diversion for them and is natural behaviour which they enjoy
If it's something crawling then you dust them with the relevant powder.
Always keep an eye on them and check regularly for "lodgers". Act before they get infested as the birds will be horribly uncomfortable :)
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Agree. This is an area that lice like to populate! :D so have a good check :)
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Thank you I have checked them all, no lice and funny enough they seem to have a bit of re growth, i always dust their coop with mite powder .
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some of mine have barish bums.
mite powder is for red mite which live on the coop and louse powder does lice which live on the chooks.
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A breeder friend of mine uses a bucketful of kitten flea shampoo to fully dunk his hens in then when they are dry uses a couple of drops of frontline on them. Cat strength. 2 years ago I had a terrible time with cralies , as did a lot on here, and I followed his advise. Got rid of them and have done the same every few months. Though of course I don't suppose the forum will endorse it but, its an option that works. :),
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A breeder friend of mine uses a bucketful of kitten flea shampoo to fully dunk his hens in then when they are dry uses a couple of drops of frontline on them. Cat strength. 2 years ago I had a terrible time with cralies , as did a lot on here, and I followed his advise. Got rid of them and have done the same every few months. Though of course I don't suppose the forum will endorse it but, its an option that works. :),
Frontline isn't licensed for chickens, but most vets will prescribe it for you if you have an issue with parasites on your birds or in the coop :) Cat strength is about the strongest they would recommend though. If you have bantams, a single drop is usually enough.
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I usually buy it from our chemist. I think it would be dearer from the vets and you would have to take the bird in which is a pain. :dry:
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I use the kitten strength in a spray which was great, but I can only get it now by prescription and I have run out. Does anyone know why this is since it is so less stronger that the over the counter one you can buy for cats and dogs? Is it possible to dilute the other solutions because I still have the sprayer
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I usually buy it from our chemist. I think it would be dearer from the vets and you would have to take the bird in which is a pain. :dry:
Both comments are very true, but as the product is not licensed for chickens, it falls under the same umbrella as using a pesticide in the garden for another use. As you pointed out previously, the forum can't condone that approach, but obviously it is your choice what you decide to do :)
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I use the kitten strength in a spray which was great, but I can only get it now by prescription and I have run out. Does anyone know why this is since it is so less stronger that the over the counter one you can buy for cats and dogs? Is it possible to dilute the other solutions because I still have the sprayer
The spray is a bit more complex to use on cats and dogs. You have to have the precise weight of the animal and evenly distribute the doses of spray across the pet's body. Maybe too much room for error without having the vet weigh the animal and advise you :unsure:
The drops need to be applied direct to the skin, so I'm not sure how you could work out a dilution rate, or if spraying the solution would work as well.
If your hens are a bit flighty, it is much easier to treat them in the coop once they have settled for the night. They will tolerate you picking them up and putting them back, with just the occasional grumble. It makes applying any medication a lot easier :)
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Hi New shoot
i always Frontlined them in the coop at night - it was so much easier. As for the dosage, I only used the smae dosage for kittens which is a lot less that the dab on one used for cats and dogs. I've not had a trouble with lice as long as I have been using it. I shall have to talk nice to my vet who thankfully is experienced with poultry.
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Hi Helenaj
Glad you have a vet who knows poultry. Ours are always helpful but have no experience at all. If the kitten strength Frontline is working for you, a chat with the vet sounds like a good option :)
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Just an update from me: Baldybum took a turn for the worse yesterday and died overnight. :( She was kept separately from Fluffybum and did not have a transmittable infection. A sad day in our household :(
RIP Baldy!
After this, I think we'll go back to hybrids. Our lovely wyandottes are beautiful, but expensive and we're down to one of three after only six months due to laying problems. Such pretty girls they were, too.
Sorry to hijack the thread - now back to the lice/mite issue. Chrysalis
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What a shame Chrysalis :( I have dotties for a few years and have found them to be hardy and healthy birds, but you have really unlucky to lose 2 out of 3 :(
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Thanks New Shoot. They were prize winners, too! :(
At least the D'Anvers are all OK. Sweet little pigeon-like birds, but ours are black. ;)