Isa browns older hens

I picked up 10, 2 year old isa browns from a lady selling off her laying flick before the new ones arrive and they look in pretty rough shape. Lots of them are missing the tails some feathers off there heads etc. also there feet look horribly rough and scaly!!! What would everyone recommend I give them. I just put out there layer ration, grit, and oyster shell but should I worm them? I also have lots of DE powder so should I powder them really good too. Also what about there poor feet and will there feathers grow back? Not sure if they are just moulting or what. They never had access to the outdoors just a big coop.

if theire legs are scaley looking, the most likely have leg mites.... KILL IT WITH FIRE!! lol... or ivomec. but KEEP THEM AWAY from you other chickens and OUT of any of your coops!!!






oo i got the itchies now.. you will probably want to check them for lice too. Both leg mites and lice will be treated with a topical treatment of pour on ivomec (cattle de-wormer)

The leg mites are very contageous, if theyre in with your other chickens, youll have to treat them too, and scrub scrub scrub the coop, perches, nest boxes etc. it takes months for their les to look normal again aswell.

Oh and be carelful with the DE, it can cause serious health problems if they can dust in it in a closed coop, I learned the hard way! The best way to get rid of lice, worms, and mites, all in 1 easy step, is 1/2 cc of pour on ivomec, on the skin on the back of their neck. I give 2 weeks of no eating the eggs, but many members I know dont. I usually treat all my birds twice a year, and every new bird that comes in, weather it looks like they have lice/mites or not.

you can also use piper-zone and Vaseline on the legs can not heart to

How would I do the piperizone and Vaseline. Think I will do both just to help them heal faster

I don't find scaly leg mite tough to handle, butit can take some time for them to look good again after they have a bad case of it.

Vaseline is good, but any oily substance works. I know in the old days they would use old diesel or any oily farm byproduct but I don't recommend that.

I have used vaseline and plain old cooking oil. It basically smothers the little buggars so has to be applied well. The poor hens will look greasy as well as naked, for awhile. I have also had very good luck applying the pour on ivermectin straight on the legs.

Ivermectin really is your best bet as it will deal with most crawlies they may have. Treat them a couple of times.

Once the scales are lifted they don't look good again until they are shed and the new ones have grown in. Once you have treated you can scrub the stuff from under the scales carefully, but I never have done that.

Like DoubleS says, if they are in with our other birds, treat the whole lot of them as it is passed very quickly and easily.

Treat them at night in the dark. They will be easier to handle. I would get on it as soon as possible if I were you.

Thanks guys I will pick up the ivomec today. And some oil. Poor things have never been outside and I have them in my big tractor but they won't come out of the house. Hopefully they start to come around. They aren't in with my other birds but my others all free range so can be around there tractor. I will treat everyone. Of the treated birds is it still ok to collect and hatch eggs or should I be throwing those out too for awhile?

If anyone near Calmar Ab needs ivormectin, try the Calmar drugstore, they carry 50ml bottles of normectin(same stuff) for under $20. This type is injectable, not pour on, the beauty here is it can just be squirted in their mouth and absorbs easier than pour on. Needles are cheap there, I just pull the sharp end out with pliers and squirt away.

They will be fine in no time. Treat the creepy crawlies, their feathers will grow back soon. I would give them some extra vitamins in their water. No antibiotics, just vitamins. I also like to give them something fatty like sunflower pieces that you buy for feeding birds in the winter. It is usually on sale this time of year. Makes their feathers shiny. I have some old ISA browns too. I get about 3-4 eggs a day from 7 of them. That is fine with me!

Great advice everyone. I bought some ISAs in exactly the same condition and they did grow back all their feathers in time. It's the deplorable overcrowding that causes stress and picking and they lose condition.

It won't take them long at all to "get with it" in that tractor, especially if your other birds are outside and around them pecking and doing what natural birds do.

Good for you for giving these "older" birds a future. xo

Thanks everyone, I wish I had another couple tractors cause she had about 25 more that I would love to take!!! I felt bad for the poor things when I got there so couldn't say no. Will get them some sunflower treats as well. Maybe sprout them some scratch too my guys love the sprouted seeds. And yesterday I got 5 eggs from the 10 so can't complain.

I'm so appalled that people sell birds in this condition.......... ISA hen or not. I'd never sell birds like that! Good grief, and to ask for money from them. I gave away all my perfectly healthy isa hens last fall because I didn't want commercial breeds anymore. Sorry, makes me mad.

I use the noromectin pour on from the Leduc UFA it was about $70 for a humungous bottle that has lasted me almost a year so far, and I use it pretty regularly. You can definitely incubate eggs from the girls when you have used this.

Good luck with them!