06/26/2025
Hey ya'll! Sorry for the lack of posting, we unfortunately had a significant loss to our chicks after a sudden chicken lice outbreak in our coop that came on so quick there wasn't even feather thinning or loss on the birds until after we began having chicks dying left and right and then discovered the lice on some of them that had been outside. I do regular checks for things on the birds and use DE as well as insecticides around the yard and house and within days we had a loss of 14 chicks including 3/4 of our turkey chicks. Luckily when I caught it I was able to begin treating right away and the last loss we had was within 24 hrs after treatment began but we litterally had I think 50% of the loss within about a 12 hr period. I gathered all the chicks including the 4 month old chicks from outside that are almost full grown sized and brought them inside to keep confined and ensure they had plenty of food and water with no competition from the adult birds and so I could keep their environment more temperature controlled and keep a close eye on them. President Snow(previously named Ursula) wasn't doing too great but with some good ole fashion tlc, freshly laid egg yolk mixed with some water and some fermented meat bird crumble he managed to survive and was doing much better the next day. They even got all their energy back(when you can easily catch and carry four 4 month old chicks at once without them trying to escape your hands you know they don't feel well!) And they put back on weight after about a week of fermented meat bird crumble and egg yolk water. They've been returned to the coop after being treated with permethrin and having everything treated a couple times out there as well as the big birds(the 11 adults) we now have only 37 chickens and 1 turkey and it'll be a couple months before we may add more babies after a 14 chick loss to ensure the lice are fully gone and the coop continues to be treated with the permethrin because regular checks and regular usage of DE and insecticides in the surrounding areas just wasn't enough to prevent. It could've very well been that the treatment didn't last as long due to all the rain, gotta love mother nature! Anywhere! We have 13 chicks inside still which they are definitely big enough for the coop because some had already been out there for several weeks but we are keeping them indoors for longer just to make sure they are staying in good health and let this heat wave perhaps calm down a bit. But that's what we've been up to unfortunately. The treatment we use doesn't contaminate the eggs so although egg production is down to only about 2-3 eggs a day right now from giving meatbird crumble to all of them as well as them being sick we are confident that we are still well on track for having an abundance of egg producers come fall! Our 3 1/2& 4 month old babies should be laying this fall so send good vibes our way and 🤞🏻 that those pesky chicken lice go away and stay away! Picture of miss Tweetie the bearded lady, aka the escaping 4 month old ameraucana who likes to escape any chance she gets lol
