Missing/broken feathers!

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cdmaze

cdmaze

In the Brooder
10 Years
Dec 14, 2009
21
1
22
My favorite chicken, an Americauna, is missing feathers at the base of her tail. Rather, it looks like the feathers may be broken off? Once, my Buff Orp. had the same thing, and they all of a sudden grew back in the last few months after having looked horrible for almost an entire year.

What is this? At first I treated the Orp with all kinds of sprays and treatments for mites- but nothing worked. So, I'm curious to see what other people say it is- and whether or not I should be treating it?
 
Mice loves to cut off the chickens tail at night to make a nest for themself. If your chicken are sleeping too low on the ground. Mice have easy access. I know, this happen too me all the time. Thats y I make sure they sleep high away from the ground.
 
Wow, seriously? Thats kinda gross. But it's consistent with what it looks like! Theres no irritation of the skin, no bugs or anything in her feathers.

Gross.
 
Quote:
I have some beautifully long tail thai/ ganoi rooster. For some of them, the beam is too low so rats and mice has easys acces to cutting off the tail to make their own nest. As for the ones that sleep higher, the mice cant get to them. They would only lose their tail at night because thats when the rooster and chickens are sleeping. They wont move. easy cutting...

I bet, if you find a mice hole or rat hole nest. All your chickens feathers will be there.

When they are molting, the whole feather comes off, not broken in half. Well, now you understand and know what you need to do.
 
Oh man, I don't think I have rats or mice. We have a camera in the coop and watch them late at night and have never seen any evidence of anything like that. Our coop is rat and mice proof except for the pop door during the day and I doubt the chickens would let them in. What else causes broken off feathers?????
 
Quote:
Maybe its the pop door. Mice and rats are really smart. They could get into the smallest crack. From my experience, they ate the reason my chickens dont have tails.
 
If the feathers are broken off at the base you might have a bully in your bunch trying to be top hen or a feather eating/picking problem. Are the feathers that are broken off in the coop or no where to be found? Are any of the hens eating them? If they are eating them then you have a protein deficiency. Make sure they are getting a quality feed and for a while increase their protein by adding beans and scrambled eggs to their diet.

If the feathers are missing go after those darn mice. Yuck!
 
I'm wondering about the bullying, since it's only the one hen, and she's got a lot of personality. She not the alpha, though- my older Buff Orp. is- and can be a bit nasty to the underlings. Hmmm....poor Ginny.
 
My cuckoo maran has been pecked by some bad chickens and she seems to be very sensitive in that area. Is that normal??? I've been putting neosporin on the area and then coating with pick-no-more. HOWEVER I noticed today that one of the tail feathers is bent/broken and another that has been broken off and tere is blood inside what's left of feather. She's especially sensitive there.

Is there something else I should be doing.
 

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