Severely underweight Wyandotte pullet

[Chicalina]

She is really pretty. Glad to hear she turned the corner. Lice can literally suck the life out of them.

 

[The White Lily]

This is my black lady modelling the eggs. I didn’t get a pic of my rooster, who was the one whose dangly egg feathers around his ears had been confusing me for ages—they were roughly the same colour as his feathers, so they didn’t show up well even under close examination. It was just so weird that they were all completely clean around the vent and under the wings, but the ears and back of the neck were clearly infested. I guess they must be head lice!
I did give them two treatments of Pestene powder and then added a sand/diatomaceous earth dust bathing area that should stay dry even in wet weather so hopefully they can manage to keep themselves cleaner. They are on the lay again, so I’m hoping that means they’re back on form. I use deep litter in the coop, so I was reluctant to change it all out. :/ Is it definitely necessary? Surely the critters have to live on the hens…
I keep Australian native bees, so I have to be careful with pesticides.

 

[Eggcessive]

Ivermectin is also used for lice if the pestene doesn’t help.