Rooster losing feathers bright red skin and hot

[Resolution]

The issue is two-fold.
1. Moulting requires superior nutrition. Creating a whole new integument is incredibly energy intensive.
2. Your hens are probably getting ready to moult may even be helping him "lose" his feathers on the nocturnal roost.

Solutions:

a. Increase the animal protein in the birds' diet STAT
b. Decrease the lay pellet or crumble. It gums the birds' digestive systems up after they've been stuffing themselves with it for a few years.
c. Put out an Optimal Foragecake for the birds to peck at. They are expensive but they last a dozen birds more than two weeks. Loaded with all kinds of nutrition.
d.take Pinesol and treat all the perches where they sleep at night top and bottom of each perch.
e. Rake out your pens entirely.
f. Pour diotamaceous earth (food grade DE)in the corners and beneath the perches.
g. make a proper sand bath out of a giant plastic tub or wading pool- fill it with sand, DE and wood ashes from the fireplace.
h. Put out a fruit salad of inexpensive canned fruit or vegetables with a heavy dose of oregano and dried red pepper empty whole package of oregano leaf and half the tin of red pepper onto the fruit- mix in some nuts or breakfast cereal- feed this in the evening once a week.
Everything can be bought at the dollar store for next to nothing.

The cellular regeneration needed requires a complete nutritional investment. Provide them with more complete nutrition including an increase in fat and animal protein.
Invisible dust mites that live on feather dander are always present but when the birds immune system is overtaxed -such as when moulting is underway- their population explodes. Keep your indoor shelters disinfected and pour out diotamaceous earth ( DE) everywhere in the hen house to kill these mites without poisoning the birds.
Behavioral enrichment is the next most important issue. Foragecakes and Flockblocks. Wild Bird Seed cakes, these all provide some stimulation and give the birds something to do besides pick out new pin feathers.

 

[daegerda]

sounds like you have the same problem as me. I never did get a good answer from anyone. so i mixed up some malithion in a bucket and dunked him in it! he got real sick for a few hours but after that his feathers grew back and he survived the Minnesota winter. The bad news is that now its happining all over again???????? I have 10 hens that live with him and they show no sign of it! If you come up with anything let me know. Dave

 

[Resolution]

Quote:
Did you notice my message preceding your last one?

 

[sourland]

As the breeding season progresses and testosterone is raging, very frequently a rooster's legs, butt, and breast become a bright red color. Not saying this is the case with your rooster, but it is a possibility. These signs can also start with the onset of sexual maturity.

 

[daegerda]

it started last fall so i doubt thats it either.

 

[Smokin Silkies]

My Serama rooster has been like this for a few weeks at least. He is with 4 hens and he is in a BAD moult! He may have been like this even longer, not sure. It seems hes been molting for several months now lol...how long does a molt last for? Feel so bad for the little guy but wasn't sure what was going on No mites or lice anywhere but all were treated and poultry dust all through the breeding cages/coops. He is the ONLY one in the whole coop/shed that is like this and I have quite a few breeding cages. Very red skin & hot too touch...

 

[ttryandy]

My husband found "Lucy" near the freeway in Los Angeles, Ca.about 2 years ago. We were hoping for eggs, but one morning got a cock a doodle do.
He lives alone in a 12 x 12 cage with a raised shed with ramp, and outside perch. Has seemed very healthy and content until about a month ago. Seems aggravated all the time. Today I held him upside down and checked his stomach, bottom and under wings, tops of legs,very bright red. Wondering if it's his diet. He gets scratch and mixed vegetables. Loves lettuce. Don't know if it's a protein problem and don't know what kind of protein to give him. He also gets a little "Integrity" (beet pulp and pellets left over from my horse) Seems to love it. Can anyone help him?

 

[Gina Maloney]

Give him a nice, warm bath.  I would normally suggest puppy flea shampoo (works wonders with lice and mites) but if he's inflamed, it may make things worse. ..just use a hypo-allergenic or even a bit of dawn dish detergent (small ammount mixed with water)  towel dry then place him under a heat lamp... give him enough room that he can excape the heat if it's too much.


When he dries a bit, rub vaseline on his inflamed skin.  /img/smilies/smile.png


Check for mites or lice at night as this is when they are most active.  Take a flashlight and check out the vent area...

 

[Manisha]

We have 8 hens, and one of them developed the hot, red skin with feather loss described here. The hens free-range across our 2-acre farm during the day, and always head back to their coop at night. They have ashes for dust bathing, so it didn't seem like parasites was the cause of her discomfort.
She was in great discomfort. She couldn't sit still, and walked very gingerly. Heartbreaking. She screamed when I picked her up. It was amazing that I could pick her up at all. She clearly needed help.
I did two things.
I sprayed her bright red skin with a purple wound spray that we've used on other injuries. It has a cooling, numbing effect that I thought might give her some relief. It did. She went back to scratching in the dirt and roaming around with the other hens. I sprayed her bottom two more times, over the course of a week, at dusk, when she was already roosting but not yet asleep.
I read that low protein might be the culprit. It was near molting time, and they have to divert a lot of protein into growing their new feathers. So I scattered about a cup of raw sunflower seeds, shelled seeds, for the 8 hens to share, which they all enjoyed. I gave them seeds once a day for about 4 or 5 days. I also switched them to Feather Fixer feed.
She was back to normal at the end of the week.