andru123456
In the Brooder
- May 19, 2023
- 4
- 7
- 14
Hi Folks, longtime lurker, finally have something to bring to the site, just wish it was something good...
I have an azure blue girl, she is about 1.5 yrs old. She has a large bald spot on her back, belly and vent.
She is pulling out her own feathers and has stopped laying. As of this morning she has no more tail feathers.
She stopped laying about a week ago and her comb drooped. She is at the bottom of the pecking order, and was getting picked on more than normal. I bathed her in epsom salt (a treatment I read about for mites) and I separated her for about 5 days and her feathers were coming back a bit, but she was getting antsy and wanted back outside. When I reintroduced her, she got spooked and just her jumping around the pen caused a lot of feathers to come out.
I put some no-pick stuff on her backside a couple days ago (which makes it look worse) but she still picks the feathers out. Perhaps its actually bothering her and making the picking worse? There is no blood or scabs I can find.
I saw her do a poop about an hour ago so I don't think it's worms? She continues to eat and drink. Wouldn't all of my hens have problems if it were mites? I didn't find any sign of mites when I would bathe her. I clean the coop out at least once a month and replace the bedding. I have tried giving lots of things to do outside, along with protein treats like scrambled eggs and grubs. She has places to dirt-bathe and she does so on occasion. She is the most anxious of my girls and very jumpy, she's the bottom of the pecking order, as I mentioned.
Could it be molting and the no-pick made it worse? It looks like feathers are coming in (she was just pink on her underside until a day or two ago when the new feather stumps have started coming in.)
Thanks for any help you can provide. I am worried she may be too far gone for my help at this point.
I have an azure blue girl, she is about 1.5 yrs old. She has a large bald spot on her back, belly and vent.
She is pulling out her own feathers and has stopped laying. As of this morning she has no more tail feathers.
She stopped laying about a week ago and her comb drooped. She is at the bottom of the pecking order, and was getting picked on more than normal. I bathed her in epsom salt (a treatment I read about for mites) and I separated her for about 5 days and her feathers were coming back a bit, but she was getting antsy and wanted back outside. When I reintroduced her, she got spooked and just her jumping around the pen caused a lot of feathers to come out.
I put some no-pick stuff on her backside a couple days ago (which makes it look worse) but she still picks the feathers out. Perhaps its actually bothering her and making the picking worse? There is no blood or scabs I can find.
I saw her do a poop about an hour ago so I don't think it's worms? She continues to eat and drink. Wouldn't all of my hens have problems if it were mites? I didn't find any sign of mites when I would bathe her. I clean the coop out at least once a month and replace the bedding. I have tried giving lots of things to do outside, along with protein treats like scrambled eggs and grubs. She has places to dirt-bathe and she does so on occasion. She is the most anxious of my girls and very jumpy, she's the bottom of the pecking order, as I mentioned.
Could it be molting and the no-pick made it worse? It looks like feathers are coming in (she was just pink on her underside until a day or two ago when the new feather stumps have started coming in.)
Thanks for any help you can provide. I am worried she may be too far gone for my help at this point.