Broody on eggs.

[di]

So!This time was going to be far more relaxed,we weren't going to worry,just prepare her well for the three week stint & basically let her get on with it!

Despite sitting her in what we thought to be a mite free coop and dusting her down well as well as her nestbox,a week in & I discovered mites!
We've since then,twice changed her box & dusted her down...to be honest I don't think the last change was necessary,as once we'd put her in the new one I checked the old one & although there were several underneath the box,none had seemed to make their way through the thick lining of mite powder.

Anyway,this morning when I checked on her,her comb has gone quite pale,actually pinkish with a grey tinge on the tip!
I remember the mistake I made with Marigold,thinking it was normal and down to the fact she was eating less & not going outside.
Should I be worried?
I'm pretty sure mites aren't feasting on her,but is there another,less worrying explanation?
Her eggs aren't due to hatch until next week(MON/Tues)sad as I'd be to sacrifice the eggs,her health is more important!

[Bramble-Poultry]

You got an incubator you can drop them into? Try an advert on freecycle or forums to borrow one for a week - if you were nearer you could have one of mine.

The mites feed at night and hide during the day so they may still be getting her. Lift her up and check her over for signs of any mites or lice, on the back of her neck, under wings and vent area. At this point if I knew there had been some in her house and she was like this I would be thinking of moving her - a cardboard box will be fine at this stage - shes still got a week to go so she should happliy take the move.

Take her out - dust her, frontline her - whatever you are going to do to her. Pop a cardboard box or indoor rabbit cage anywhere you have space, fill with fresh bedding that has had no chance to come into contact with mites. pop her eggs in and some fresh water. pop her down to eat whilst you do all of this, give her something she fancies. now pop her in to box - monitor her carefully and see if she improves. Turf her off the eggs daily for food and water and toilet and then pop her back in the box - some chickens will do this automatically - some will literally starve themselves to sit on eggs. This gives you a week to sort her accommodation out and erradicate the mites - under the roof felt in every corner the works - then 48 hours after babies have hatched you can pop them all into their clean accomodation

If she not improving in the way you would likethen perhaps you will ahve to sacrafice the eggs.

[Nicos]

Does frontline ward off red mites????
If so- seeing as you won't be getting any eggs from her for at least 8 weeks- it might be worth considering a more drastic approach?
Can't believe it's happening again- at least you're on the lookout now

[Bramble-Poultry]

nicos - frontline will kill mites actually on the bird (and scaley) - not sure how it is for residual effect due to the way it is distributed - it works in mammals but birds aren;t made then same!!!! because of this the spray is better than the spot on - however the spray is prescription only from a vet! I've heard mixed reports about it effectiveness.

Personally we are not allowed to use frontline here as its is not licenced for or tested on poultry and we are DEFRA registered and we do find that the powders etc on the market work quite well. And there are some good natural remidies that will deter red mite (not kill them)

BTW its a neurotoxin so only use it once every 4 weeks never more often

[di]

Andi has made a new little coop for her(still minus a floor though!),we were going to wait until the eggs had hatched & move her & the babies in then,but think I may do it tonight.
Is normal dog/cat frontline OK to use?I'm guessing this would actually kill anything lurking on her?...I'm starting to think that although normally nocturnal,mites are possibly staying on her throughout the day as well because she's sat in a darkened corner?
If we were to apply frontline tonight,would all residue be gone before hatch day?

Nicos...I can't believe it either...maybe we were a little early in our pride of how well prepared we "thought" we were!
How are you...either you're posting on threads I'm not reading(school hols,so I'm not on here all day!!!)...or you've not been about?Hope you're well.x

[di]

Sorry BP...I was busy writing my question without realising you'd answered it!
Thanks!

[Bramble-Poultry]

its ok di

either, couple of squirts - 1 under each wing, lift the feathers on the base of her neck and squirt 1 there and tehn 1 tummy area - near to the vent but not on it - and leave her at that.

[RichmondHens]

Bramble - Does the Frontline not harm the incubating eggs? I've always been against using this product anyway in view of the fact that it's not tested/licensed for poultry etc and don't want toxins entering eggs via the hen.

[Bramble-Poultry]

yeah i know what you mean richmond - its a non systemic drug - ie it doesn't enter the blood stream in any way. as for the eggs shes sitting on I have no idea so a really good point that I hadn't considered!

I personally do not use it because its not a licenced product, lots of people advocate it as a good method though - I have even known vets to reccomend it. I assume that it does the bird harm in much the same way as it does dogs and cats harm being a neuro toxin and all.

[Bephlam]

Whhaaaaatt?? You're having more chicks???

[Nicos]

Nicos..
How are you...either you're posting on threads I'm not reading(school hols,so I'm not on here all day!!!)...or you've not been about?Hope you're well.x

.....flipping French Internet.,otherwise working my sox off on the renovations or gardening or cooking /freezing /preserving home grown products!!! ( I thought I came here for a quieter life!!!!)

(I'm getting 4-5 eggs a day now from my 5 gals...yippie!!!!!!)

Good luck with the mites.....

[Polly Fouracre]

If you can't borrow an incubator and the hen goes off the eggs whilst away from familiar surroundings, put the eggs on a warm hot-water- bottle and steam clean the coop.
Usually, though, if you put hen and eggs in a dark box, she will stay put.
You don't need to soak the coop with steam, just pass the jet of steam over every bit of the house.

[di]

Well I think we'll give the Frontline a miss!
Could the pale comb be because she's not doing normal chooky things that keep them healthy?Is it common & I'm just being paranoid because of Marigold last time?
I've not seen any sign of mites today,checked under her nestbox & in it.I'm pretty sure with Marigold that they were after her all day as well as night?
I've got a steam cleaner,but unfortunately it's electric & the chooks are at the lottie.
Bephlam...Yep,for our sins we thought we'd give it another go,thought with all the mistakes we supposedly learnt from last time,this time would be a breeze!
If we let her stay on them,they're due on the 18th.
Yay Nicos...finally your girls are laying as opposed to sitting!

[RichmondHens]

Di - All broodies will go a bit paler due to the time spent in the (relative) dark doing very little except expending energy heating up the eggs. If it has been a rapid de-colouration though, I would suspect something like mites being the culprit. Sorry.

Having said all that, this is the second time this year she's been broody, isn't it? She may not have recovered as well as she should before going broody again. It does take it out of them. One of my older LS bantams has just raised a second brood (only had 4 weeks between coming into lay after raising the first lot and going broody for a second time) and is not gaining condition as fast as I would like her to.

[Nicos]

When Betty was sitting the tips of her comb went dark blue/black...the same colour I was worried about in winter with frostbite!!!! ...OMG....will we ever stop worrying about the gals??