What is wrong with my chicken?

Go to a chicken feed supply store or a vet.

Do some research on diatomaceous earth. It’s supposed to help dry up & kill the mites & their eggs. That’s what most of my neighbors use on their chickens. Be sure to treat the coop as well or they will just come back.

IF you don’t mind using an insecticide you might want to watch this. She shows you what the lice look lie & how to treat them. It’s only about 2–½ minutes long.

I’d go with @SEKA‘s advice. We’ve used it my whole life on everything from gardens to feral cats.

I think we use diatomaceous earth but we may not use enough @SEKA.

@KRD You might want to watch this for ideas on the best way to use the DE. I don’t have any chickens so I’m far from an expert. The one thing I do know is that you need to get the lice under control or your chicken could die. She must be a really good hen if she’s still laying well at 8 y/o

There was 1 other DE vid. They suggested using it with water but I was under the impression that you don’t want to get DE wet. Plus, this vid is more of an ad for their company. I’ve included it just in case you want to possibly learn something different

You might want to head out to your local Tractor Supply or whatever you have near you & ask for suggestions. I grew up on a farm, lost interest when I left home and during the pandemic I got into watching some of the homestead vids simply because I was bored senseless

Good luck with your hen

Whoa! Did not know that diatomaceous earth can kill lice. We have some for silverfish. Hoping we never have to use this knowledge. But good to know.

@raum My mother used bay leaves to deter silverfish. I don’t know why, but you might want to research that one. A lot safer than DE if it works

@SEKA Cool. I’ve never heard of bay leaves for silverfish. Will definitely research that!

Though the DE we have is food grade. So that seems pretty safe?

Diatomaceous earth is made up of the silicate skeletons from zillions of microscopic sea life. It kills bugs because it cuts up their exoskeletons.

DE is dangerous if you were to inhale it. I don’t know how it should be used on poultry.