Chickens are losing their neck feathers! (not molting)

[cochins1088]

I have 19 cochin hens, 2 roosters, and 6 chicks at the moment. All of the full grown Cochins are missing neck feathers, some are to the point that they are looking more like turkens. This has never happened before. They don't seem to be molting as they have been this way for over a month and are getting a bit worse every day. The skin missing feathers does not have the pin picks of new feathers coming in, and there are very few holes, it's apears as if they have never had feathers there which is obviouly not true. Egg production has also slowed some. They eat egg layer pellets and table scraps, like watermelon rines. I have been researching like crazy and I did come across mites and lice, so I went down and examined them like crazy, and I did find some lice, but it doesn't seem to be an infestation. I haven't had any deaths, but what ever is going on, is happening to all of them. If the few lice I found are the problem, what would you recommend for treatment, there are so many opinoins out there. I don't want to treat other than DE, IF the lice isn't the main problem because of the chicks, and I have 2 broody hens about 15 days into incubation. But IF it is the lice, I'm willing to pull out the big guns. Thanks in advance!

 

[winekntrychicks]

Sounds like you may have feather picking. Do they get to free range. Chickens get bored. I have been told it could be due to protein deficiency as well. Try "flock Block" of seeds and let them free range longer in the day.

 

[sourland]

By any chance is one or more of your birds in good feather? It almost sounds as if you have a feather picker in the flock. Typically it will be the one bird that is in apparent good condition.

 

[winekntrychicks]

Sounds like you may have feather picking. Do they get to free range. Chickens get bored. I have been told it could be due to protein deficiency as well. Try "flock Block" of seeds and let them free range longer in the day.

I agree. I have had this happen in my flock.

 

[winekntrychicks]

By any chance is one or more of your birds in good feather? It almost sounds as if you have a feather picker in the flock. Typically it will be the one bird that is in apparent good condition.

opps wrong quote. This is the right one above.

 

[cochins1088]

Not really, some are better than others, but I believe all of them are losing neck feathers, and I thought that at first as well, but wouldn't there be holes, and blood spots in the skin if they were being torn out, the skin looks pretty healthy minus the fact there are no feathers, also the roosters are dominant and keep things in line and never harm each other and they are missing feathers as well.

 

[cochins1088]

And they get free range every other day from 3:00 to dark, we don't let them out constantly because we like to let our dogs run free and they would gladly enjoy some chicken, we lock the dogs up during that time.

 

[TeamChaos]

I just had some guys in my rooster pen develop naked necks. I checked them over and found bird mites and gnat bites. ( the wild birds were coming into the run to enjoy the cold water and fresh snacks during our heat wave and I think they shared their bugs!) The gnats, I think, are buffalo gnats and they drink blood- the birds lose their feathers trying to scratch the nasty things off! Take a look at the necks and combs and see if you can catch any gnats in action on your birds. I ended up bathing all of my roosters in adam's shampoo to kill the mites, I avoided soaping up their raw combs but I did wash those w/ plain water on a cloth, then I sprayed them w/ adam's mist once they were dry. I also turned the bedding in the run and dusted it w/ sevin and added more DE to the spots the guys like to dust bathe in. Best of luck!

 

[ReikiStar]

And they get free range every other day from 3:00 to dark, we don't let them out constantly because we like to let our dogs run free and they would gladly enjoy some chicken, we lock the dogs up during that time.

It's not feather picking. That usually shows up on at the base of the tail. It's the lice. Feather picking usually happens when birds are stressed, usually confined with not enough room or there isn't enough protein in their diet.

So get whatever big guns you use and go for it! Lice happens. Doesn't mean their living conditions are deplorable. Wild birds have lice, it's in the environment. Anyone's birds can and do get lice. The feathers won't grow back until their next molt so you'll have "turkhens" for a few months more.

 

[cochins1088]

I've never seen a gnat here at our house but I will look it over. Otherwise it's sounds like it's probably the lice, by big guns I simply meant extreme measures, I read a lot of people have sucess with Ivermectin, but sounds like some pretty strong stuff, but many people also say that the DE and other powders usually only work as prevenatives. I have never treated lice before, any advice for that?