Mites or Lice

Thanks Chris, just can't figure out what's going on with their weight then! I don't know if I'm being paranoid but with all my 'nit nurse' style inspections I've been having this week I'm now starting to think the other two have lost a bit of weight too!

I haven't really found lots of clusters of eggs just the lice. I'm going home to dust AGAIN and have a good check over! I'm convince these lice are what has led to the feather's being pulled out as this has stopped (since the feathers and subsequently the lice have gone!). I'm quite pleased about this at least as hopefully it means I don't have a nasty feather pecker in the flock!
 
Only way to be sure they are losing weight is to weigh them Cuwiar, which is easier said than done. We have had weight loss issues since I restricted the grit and it has always been due to insufficient grit and food only partially digested. Our problem is we had one piggy Orpington addicted to grit and ate nothing else -went round all the feeders in the other coops just eating the grit -her crop rattled! So check the poos to make sure the food is being properly digested.
 
also, if you plan on weighing them. be sure you do it in the morning before feeding so you can get a empty crop weight. do it every other day or 3 days not daily you will get a better picture of weight loss/gain.
 
How do you weigh yours Chris/Steph? What type of scales do you use?

It seems that some of their poos are completely digested/normal poos but sometimes they seem to be not wholly digested. They have plenty of access to grit from a hopper, although today they were eating soil so I put more grit out in a little pile as they seem to prefer taking it this way.
 
I'm lucky enough to be very close to the weight simply by picking them up, within 20%. Most of ours will stand on digital scales because they don't move under their feet like a spring or balance scale would. Some just won't stand still at all !!! Feeling the breast bone is a good way to tell if they are underweight. For overweight around the back of the rib cage where the fat hangs out. If their crop is fine and poos fine I don't bother but we were caught unawres by one who looked perfectly healthy and I only picked up when one wing dipped as she came out of the coop- lost her balance. She weighed nothing and died two days later. So I try to pick them up as well as feel the crop now and talk to them to make sure they are talking back.
 
chrismahon said:
Most of ours will stand on digital scales because they don't move under their feet like a spring or balance scale would. Some just won't stand still at all !!! .
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First of all, weigh yourself. Then pick up the chicken and weigh both of you. Then calculate the difference between the two readings, which will tell you how much she weighs.
 
I have to be honest, i've never weighed a chook at home! only at the vets and we would just pop them on the small scales and weight them. If they won't be still then we hang them upside down till they settle and lie them on their sides. they usually stay still long enough to get weight and pick them back up again with no fuss. but generally when we saw them they were injured or very ill so didn't do the hanging often. Only did that with some young pullets that were panicking for vaccinations, the vet couldn't get them still lol :D weighing yourself and then the chook is not very accurate but would probably suffice for what you are doing it for. I wouldn't recommend that for medication dosage.
 
I can get them to lie on their sides for a short time as that's how I've been doing the 'nit nursing' but I'll need to get some digital scales for them I think. I don't think my scales at home would pick up the subtleties of their weight loss if I got on with them.

I'm at a loss.

I don't need to weigh the one I'm most worried about to know she's lost weight. She feels tiny and so boney when I pick her up. And now I think the other two feel smaller and their breastbones more prominent.

The one who is really skinny, is eating quality food ok, crop seems ok, pooing ok, chattering, foraging, laying, has been wormed, had Beryls on Wednesday, ACV etc...but she's just getting thinner.
 
Well you could do with understanding the weight loss rate and of course these things take time to go into reversal. Hopefully the warmer weather will pick her up as well. Our scales are a bit small diameter for chickens to lie on or Bottom to stand on and the reading is easily obsured, so that's something to consider when you go shopping Cuwiar.
 
I use kitchen scales, putting the hen in a box and weighing it, then removing the hen and weigh the box then just subtract the box weight. Works very well. Have to have the flat scales though.
 
Or get one of those things that you hang luggage on by a hook, to tell you if your bag is over the weight for airline travel. Put hen in a shopping bag or container that you know the weight of, and suspend her - like they used to when weighing babies in the olden days when I was being born.
 
Aw, Marigold, makes me think of storks bringing babies! I think I remember my baby brother being weighed like that and that was only 26 years ago!

Sue, really like your plan - seems like a straightforward solution!

Will have to go shopping for some 'large' digital scales at the weekend!

Ok, short term plan decided. Most of what you read warns you of the danger of making your hens too fat but I think I need some Complan for my ladies!
 
Sue said:
I use kitchen scales, putting the hen in a box and weighing it, then removing the hen and weigh the box then just subtract the box weight. Works very well. Have to have the flat scales though.
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very good for weighing cats, especially nasty ones that want to scratch your eyes out!! :-)11 :lol: keep in the cat box on the scales and open pen door GO! lol :-)07
 
I know this is an old post, but was it ever resolved? Cuwiar did you ever find out what made your chickens skinny?

I'm having a similar problem with mine.

They seem healthy in every way, no mites or lice to visibly see, they've been wormed, nothing I can put my finger on, but I can't seem to get any weight on them. I only got them in February of this year (2015) and they were blump (not fat) birds at 18 weeks old. They are all laying daily and eating and drinking well so can't understand it???

I was just hoping that maybe you came to a conclusion with yours?
 
I wonder whether yours are actually a healthy weight? They sound fine to me. If there was anything wrong with them, they would stop laying and give other signs of being under the weather. You should be able to feel a clear , sharp chest bone on a chicken and many birds are actually overweight from lack of exercise and unsuitable feeding, Burds bred as layers are genetically programmed to put their energies into laying eggs, not putting on weight. My best layer was a tiny little Columbian Blacktail who has laid a good- sized egg nearly every day for three years, though half the size of less good laying birds.
One thing does occur to me - when you wormed them, was it with Flubenvet? It's always a good idea to do new birds, and thereafter to repeat the week's treatment every 4-6 months. Flubenvet is the most reliable wormer, licensed for chickens, easy to use and safe, with no egg withdrawal. Don't rely on herbal preparations, they may act as a tonic bit don't reliably kill worm eggs in he chickens' gut. At their age, a heavy worm burden is unlikely, but it's good not to let it build up. It can cause weight loss, among other problems, but I don't think yours are at all likely to be suffering in that way.
 
They do have a sharp breast bone, but thought that would indicate an under weight bird? They get a lot of exercise running up and down the garden after me, every day.
I didn't use Flubenvet as I couldn't get hold of any for love nor money, all local suppliers, vets etc and on line seemed to be out of stock, so used the medicated layers pellets from Heygate I think they're called? I fed this for 7 days and they ate well.
 
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