# New chickens: Mites? Eye issue. Missing feathers on crest.



## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

Hi all! We recently bought two white crested black polish hens and got one white crested black polish rooster so we could incubate and sell chicks next year. 

One hen seemed to have damaged feathers, of which we suspected mites but, I'm not really thinking mites since she seemed to be the only one with the problem, and since she was with other chickens and no grass at her old home, I'm assuming it is a combination between molting and getting picked on. I didn't see any scarring, clusters of eggs, or evidence of scaly leg mites, so we decided not to treat for mites, but we did bathe her and her sister. Just wondered if anybody had anything to say about it. She also had runny poop for a day or so after we got her but seems much better now. If we should've treated, please let me know!

As for her sister, her sister has a weird eye thing. I think the third eyelid is covering the entire eye. There is no discharge or oozing from what I can tell. I have a picture but she kinda blinked during it so it's pretty terrible. I'll try to update with better pictures later. The other eye is perfectly fine. No discharge, no oozing, it's clear, alert, and she seems healthy in every other way from what I can tell.
Should I rinse with saline, or just wait it out? Her previous owner said she hadn't seen that on her before, so I'm guessing it may have happened during the ride home.


And, last but not least, the rooster. He seems very healthy but is missing some feathers on his head. He was with another rooster so I think he was getting picked on. The feather shafts are visible but broken, and the feathers are gone. Since he and the girls wanted to be near each other, I let them hang out together for a while while I was watching, and one hen started gently pecking him there. He didn't seem to be bothered by it, but I don't want them to hurt him. They are separated whenever I'm not watching them, but they really want to be together. 

Should I put Blu-Kote on it so they can be together and they won't peck him, or should I keep them separated until it heals? I plan on keeping them separated for a few days anyway just in case the first hen does have mites, but the sooner they can be together, the better.

Thank you so much in advance!

All the new chickens are separated from my other chickens.

I've also posted the same thread on Backyard Chicks forum, but I wanted to see if anybody here with chickens has ever seen any of this before.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I would do the saline in the eye. I'd also do the Blukote on the rooster.


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## Tanya (Mar 31, 2020)

You can do saline and kayan pepper for the hens.


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## mmahamilton (Jun 25, 2020)

CaramelKittey said:


> Hi all! We recently bought two white crested black polish hens and got one white crested black polish rooster so we could incubate and sell chicks next
> You definitely need to keep an eye on the hen with the swollen eye. I would rinse it with saline and you could give a medicated chick feed. I have had a silkie rooster with that same type of eye problem and the vet said it was sort of like a bird version of a head cold. He was treated with antibiotic injections.
> 
> It's a good idea to keep any new birds or any that have been to any shows in quarantine for 30 days. I have show cages that I place my birds in when we come back from a poultry show...they can still see each other and don't get as stressed.
> ...


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

Thank you! We will definitely do that then! Do you think it’s safe to put the rooster with the hens after the Blu-Kote?


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

Tanya said:


> You can do saline and kayan pepper for the hens.


I've never heard of using Kayan Pepper. How is it done?


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## Tanya (Mar 31, 2020)

Half a teaspoon down the throught or you can sprinkle it over the feed. Pretty much an unknown antibiotic that you can use with garlic on chickens. It pretty much clears infections up.


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

Tanya said:


> Half a teaspoon down the throught or you can sprinkle it over the feed. Pretty much an unknown antibiotic that you can use with garlic on chickens. It pretty much clears infections up.


Thank you! We will definitely try it! We don't have any garlic unfortunately, but hopefully the Kayan pepper will be enough! I'm assuming it will be fine if I sprinkle it in her food even though another hen is eating it too, right? I've heard of people giving it to them to help them stay warm, but I just wanted to double-check first. Thank you so much!


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## Tanya (Mar 31, 2020)

You can let all of them peck at it. It wont do any harm. Only half a teaspoon. Too much will let them over heat.


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