[eggbertina]

One of our hens injured a toe on 18th December and lost an amazing amount of blood from a tiny wound.  Wound was washed and 'blue' sprayed as vet directed.  Hen seemed fine next day when she had to go to her holiday home with our other 3 the next day as we were going away for 10 days.  They're all back home now but the one who'd lost the blood does not seem well.  She's a bit lethargic, not laying and her coomb and wattles seem to have shrunk and gone dark.  She also seems to shake her head a lot.  Others are all fine and racing around the enclosure as normal.  Any ideas please folks on what I can do to help the poorly hen and is the blood loss behind the poorliness?

[compostqueen]

Head shaking could be down to mites so you could gather her up and have a very close look at her.  If she has got mites she will need treatment. Check the others too

[joyfull]

yes check for mites also check your coop for red mites. With this mild winter mites and lice of all types will have survived.
The blood loss from toes, combs and wattles always looks like they have lost a lot but in reality it may not have been that much. However much she has lost should have been replenished by now. The holiday away from their normal place may have upset her and put her off lay which may account for the shrunken comb. Make sure she is eating and drinking as per normal.

[eggbertina]

Sorry, pc troubles, so couldn't get to view replies til now.  Thanks for your advice.  Hen is a little livelier now, scratching and kicking around with the others.  We have never had red mite in their coop.  It's regularly scrubbed, sprayed and has liberal dustings of diatom.  I did wonder whether she may have picked up ear mites or something whilst away and being a bit below par after losing the blood.  (It did seem a lot of blood - perches were dripping and I changed the wood shavings in the coop twice in the morning as they were so blooming and the others were eating them!)  Mites - YUK - Are they visible to the naked eye and what's the best treatment?  It's been so wet that the hens can't dust bath like they used to - they try - even though the run is roofed and the ground has a deep layer of Nedzbed (renewed every 7-14 days plus Stalosan and Diatom added - and poo picked daily) the ground litter is damp more often than not.  I make sure that their nest boxes also have a good dose of diatom amongst the wood shavings and shredded paper to deter creepy crawlies.  I try hard with prevention methods.  If she does have mites - can I use something like Frontline or Ivermectin on her and the others?

[compostqueen]

Have you read the stickies on the poultry pages here as the answer may well be there

[joyfull]

yes you can use frontline for kittens or the spray, however as it isn't licensed for poultry you should get it from your vets and sign a disclaimer.

[Sassy]

Victoria Roberts, poultry vet, in Smallholder magazine reported on some recent research done on Frontline with poultry and it is not recommended for them and active ingredients showed up in the eggs. The only recommendation was if you use the Frontline never to eat eggs from that bird again.

[Dawnuss]

I also read that about frontline. I use a speacial mite and lice powder but more as a prevention so i couldnt say it would work to kill mite/lice that are already present im sure its from nettex so you could try googling. I agree although it may have looked a lot of blood it probably wasnt enough to harm her if youve ever cut a dogs claw and caught the quick ule know this i accidently turned my white dog red once while i panicked to death the dog was oblivious to him new extreme makeover. Besides the body makes blood every second so was she lost would now have been refilled. Have you checked the toe  to see that it has healed and showing no sign of infection though.

[joyfull]

it seems to be something that vets disagree on, my own vet (and they treat lots of poultry) recommends it as does Babes vet - see here:-

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=5250.0

however before using it you should consult your own poultry vet