Feather loss in the rear....

[aart]

WOW! that's a fantastic photo...but I believe those are lice, could be the reason for the feather loss.
Do you see any lice egg clusters at the base of feathers?

This is how I got rid of chicken lice.

 

[jgcalifornia]

I saw several lined up like soldiers along the shaft of the feather..
Didn't see any egg clusters. There was a line of them, then randomly throughout the feathers.
Saw them on my white leghorn as well... Not a good week for the girls. ;(
GROSS!

Did you use copper sulfate in their water?
How long did it take for them to go away?
Any idea if Diatomaceous Earth works?

Thank you!!

 

[abserbean]

DE won't get rid of an infestation, just a preventative. I've used poultry protector successfully on my girls to deal with mites, but have never used for lice. It does say on the bottle that it is for lice as well though. Good luck!

Here is the website/info on poultry protector.
http://www.mannapro.com/products/poultry/poultry-protector/

 

[aart]

I saw several lined up like soldiers along the shaft of the feather..
Didn't see any egg clusters. There was a line of them, then randomly throughout the feathers.
Saw them on my white leghorn as well... Not a good week for the girls. ;(
GROSS!

Did you use copper sulfate in their water?
How long did it take for them to go away?
Any idea if Diatomaceous Earth works?

Thank you!!

No egg clusters is kind of a surprise, maybe they haven't been there long....or it's some other insect?
I'd do some research and make sure what they are before choosing a treatment.....but that's just me.

All the CS/lice info is in that thread I linked.

I doubt DE will work for an infestation, it might help as a preventative in the future tho.

 

[jgcalifornia]

Ok.
Maybe I should post those pics in another section of the site to get it identified with certainty. It does resemble lice doesn't it..
Thanks for all the help guys, appreciate it.

 

[NikkisChix]

I'm having possibly a similar problem- 7 out of my 8 hens are all missing large amounts of feather on the belly/stomachs. I have not seen any mites or evidence of lice, not witnessed any feather pecking, and the only hen without this problem is my one silkie.... Here's the best picture I could get today. The skin is not inflamed..

 

[jgcalifornia]

Hmmm....well I waited mine out and she seemed to grow them back just fine.
I was paying extra attention to any feathers around or how the others were treating her..She also did have a minor case of mites and lice, which I treated with Poultry Protector. Worked great.

I would say as long as your not seeing any severe redness, bleeding or sores to may be give it some time??

Is everyone drinking and hydrated?
Getting their vitamins and nutrition?
I ask only because you said it's 7 out of the 8, which indicates whatever it is, it is affecting everyone.

Have you checked the other parts of their body for the lice and mites?

Although Gilly's feather loss was in the rear, I found the mice and lice were mostly behind her neck and around her crop area.
Hope this helps a bit.

 

[NikkisChix]

Here are pictures I took today. I checked tail and neck etc for lice- nothing and my friend didn't see anything either...

 

[jgcalifornia]

Is everyone drinking and hydrated?
Getting their vitamins and nutrition?

 

[NikkisChix]

As far as I know, I check food and water daily, they usually go every other day for food and sometimes go every other day for water. Most of the time I add ACV but not all the time. Their food is %16 protein. They laid 7 beautiful eggs today.. I let them out in the yard for at least an hour each day but mostly I let them out for as long as I can