So the title says it all - I have 15 chickens and two ducks (had 3). The majority of my chickens have pink butts where feathers are trying to grow but failing - A few of the Black Australorps also have bare chests. The space is a 15'x15' coop with 3 full sized windows and spaces at the ceiling for ventilation - It's a horse stall that I converted - There's a door also for ventilation that leads to the run which is 15' x 26' - Clay/Hard dirt base + 5 Yards of egg rock + 5 years of chicken coop sand (forgot the name, but it's the right stuff)
I assume it's mites so HOW do I get rid of them once and for all?!
I've tried EVERYTHING to get their feathers back
In Summary:
- Normal cleanings - Empty out all bedding - Backpack spray lightly with water & vinegar/garlic concentrate mix (homemade) - Dry - Sweetheart PDZ - Pine Shavings
- Fresh water & food - dumping out anything that's clumped on a daily basis - One Coccidia issue was enough for me
- Nutridrench supplementation
- B12
- Garlic - only as a small additive to the water to stop them from pecking one another and to deter mites from biting
- Probiotics - Assure good gut health in case negative consequences of Garlic
- Food Grade Diatomaceous earth dust bath offering - It's in a kiddy pool for them in the run - It was inside for a period of the winter sporadically
- Antibiotic Spray has been applied to their behinds also - Not sure the brand, but if this is critical, I'm all ears to prioritizing it
- I have a 5 pound bag of mixed dried "mite deterring herbs" that I put in the nest boxes also...
- NO yeast supplements or "Water Treatments"
- NOTE: The initial "outbreak" was after I got a bale of compressed hay to use as bedding versus my usual tractor supply shavings and chips.
They seem healthy overall but it's still irritated seeing them with bare spots - I see posts all the time of just letting chickens roam around and they're perfect - I've bought EVERYTHING I could possibly find to remedy my issue and nothing works...
I've sprayed them down lightly, do I literally hand wash them each to get the mites off? Leave the coop empty for a few days? Soak the birds in something? I'm open, I would just like to get this taken care of. Do I sanitize the entire 40x60 barn? Has anyone had experience with them vacating the coop while it's getting cleaned, hiding somewhere, then coming back? I just don't get how they can keep re-appearing so I'm assuming I'm not properly killing them.
Background:
I had this issue with a couple birds last years and determined it was mites - which I thought I got rid of. The chickens were sprayed down with a recommended mix and the inside of the coop sanitized (to the best of my ability... unless it's that tricky to kill them) - The coop has a concrete floor so I removed all bedding and sprayed it with a highly concentrated garlic & vinegar mixture.
After this, I started the fall with the deep litter method.
This seemed to work until towards the end of fall when the I noticed one bird with a bare bottom again.
Not too long after noticing the loss of feathers, I waited for a warmer day to re-sanitize and clean the birds (thinking it's mites)
About a month after this second cleaning, a chicken & duck passed at one time - then a second chicken passed about 2 weeks later (he looked to have gotten beat up). - I realize that these things can happen randomly, but what the heck, I do literally EVERYTHING to keep them alive.
I cleaned and sanitized the coop after both deaths and have done it a third time sense... It's a lot of pine shavings.
- Should I use something stronger than vinegar? My concern is leaving a residue and harming the birds.
I assume it's mites so HOW do I get rid of them once and for all?!
I've tried EVERYTHING to get their feathers back
In Summary:
- Normal cleanings - Empty out all bedding - Backpack spray lightly with water & vinegar/garlic concentrate mix (homemade) - Dry - Sweetheart PDZ - Pine Shavings
- Fresh water & food - dumping out anything that's clumped on a daily basis - One Coccidia issue was enough for me
- Nutridrench supplementation
- B12
- Garlic - only as a small additive to the water to stop them from pecking one another and to deter mites from biting
- Probiotics - Assure good gut health in case negative consequences of Garlic
- Food Grade Diatomaceous earth dust bath offering - It's in a kiddy pool for them in the run - It was inside for a period of the winter sporadically
- Antibiotic Spray has been applied to their behinds also - Not sure the brand, but if this is critical, I'm all ears to prioritizing it
- I have a 5 pound bag of mixed dried "mite deterring herbs" that I put in the nest boxes also...
- NO yeast supplements or "Water Treatments"
- NOTE: The initial "outbreak" was after I got a bale of compressed hay to use as bedding versus my usual tractor supply shavings and chips.
They seem healthy overall but it's still irritated seeing them with bare spots - I see posts all the time of just letting chickens roam around and they're perfect - I've bought EVERYTHING I could possibly find to remedy my issue and nothing works...
I've sprayed them down lightly, do I literally hand wash them each to get the mites off? Leave the coop empty for a few days? Soak the birds in something? I'm open, I would just like to get this taken care of. Do I sanitize the entire 40x60 barn? Has anyone had experience with them vacating the coop while it's getting cleaned, hiding somewhere, then coming back? I just don't get how they can keep re-appearing so I'm assuming I'm not properly killing them.
Background:
I had this issue with a couple birds last years and determined it was mites - which I thought I got rid of. The chickens were sprayed down with a recommended mix and the inside of the coop sanitized (to the best of my ability... unless it's that tricky to kill them) - The coop has a concrete floor so I removed all bedding and sprayed it with a highly concentrated garlic & vinegar mixture.
After this, I started the fall with the deep litter method.
This seemed to work until towards the end of fall when the I noticed one bird with a bare bottom again.
Not too long after noticing the loss of feathers, I waited for a warmer day to re-sanitize and clean the birds (thinking it's mites)
About a month after this second cleaning, a chicken & duck passed at one time - then a second chicken passed about 2 weeks later (he looked to have gotten beat up). - I realize that these things can happen randomly, but what the heck, I do literally EVERYTHING to keep them alive.
I cleaned and sanitized the coop after both deaths and have done it a third time sense... It's a lot of pine shavings.
- Should I use something stronger than vinegar? My concern is leaving a residue and harming the birds.
