Books and Chickens
In the Brooder
- Jan 12, 2025
- 4
- 22
- 26
Hi, everyone!
So, at Thanksgiving, my sister-in-law sent me three of her oldest chickens. One died shortly thereafter. Fast forward to I think late December, and I noticed one of the survivors was losing feathers on her stomach/lower chest. I've never dealt with old chickens, so I chalked it up to age and didn't worry about it, assuming she would follow her sister to the grave in short order.
Well, she didn't. Some time later (January, probably), two of my younger chickens (less than a year old) started losing feathers on the front of their necks.
My dad gave them oyster shells, and one of the younger ones eventually went back to normal.
The other young one stayed the same—a naked front neck. And the older one (first to start losing feathers) kept her naked stomach. I kept waiting, hoping that it would change. However, it's actually gotten worse. The young one has gone bald (like in the past two weeks or so), and the older one looks HORRIBLE.
The older one seems to itch quite a bit.
The younger one doesn't itch much at all, though I've seen her itching her own neck and end up with a feather in her mouth, so she could be pulling them out herself. But that doesn't explain her balding head.
We had four roosters and recently downsized to two. If it's a stress thing, maybe NOW it will normalize? Space-wise, our coop might be too small, but it's all we can manage right now, and they don't spend much time in it. They're fenced, but it's a spacious orchard.
I considered mites, but I've checked the coop at night with a flashlight (I guess red mites hide in the day?) and saw nothing. I've studied the older one and see nothing crawling on her. Plus, I assume if it's mites, surely ALL the chickens would be losing feathers? Like I said, this has been going on for months.
I've also noticed that both patients have become good friends. That might explain why they have similar symptoms, but even with their friendship, they roost alongside the other birds, so it's not like they haven't exposed everyone. And yet only THEY are losing feathers.
Any ideas? I still wonder if it's diet, since the oyster shells seemed to help the third hen. Maybe these two just don't like oyster shells.
Also: my sister-in-law eventually gave me ALL her chickens, and still, this old one is the only hen of hers that has this issue.
TLDR: An old brown chicken and a young Salmon Faverolle are losing their feathers. A different hen was cured with oyster shells, but these ones are still balding. Condition has been going on since at least December and has slowly been getting worse. Any suggestions?
First picture is the older chicken with a balding belly. Second and third pictures are the young Salmon Faverolle hen who is balding on her head and neck.
So, at Thanksgiving, my sister-in-law sent me three of her oldest chickens. One died shortly thereafter. Fast forward to I think late December, and I noticed one of the survivors was losing feathers on her stomach/lower chest. I've never dealt with old chickens, so I chalked it up to age and didn't worry about it, assuming she would follow her sister to the grave in short order.
Well, she didn't. Some time later (January, probably), two of my younger chickens (less than a year old) started losing feathers on the front of their necks.
My dad gave them oyster shells, and one of the younger ones eventually went back to normal.
The other young one stayed the same—a naked front neck. And the older one (first to start losing feathers) kept her naked stomach. I kept waiting, hoping that it would change. However, it's actually gotten worse. The young one has gone bald (like in the past two weeks or so), and the older one looks HORRIBLE.
The older one seems to itch quite a bit.
The younger one doesn't itch much at all, though I've seen her itching her own neck and end up with a feather in her mouth, so she could be pulling them out herself. But that doesn't explain her balding head.
We had four roosters and recently downsized to two. If it's a stress thing, maybe NOW it will normalize? Space-wise, our coop might be too small, but it's all we can manage right now, and they don't spend much time in it. They're fenced, but it's a spacious orchard.
I considered mites, but I've checked the coop at night with a flashlight (I guess red mites hide in the day?) and saw nothing. I've studied the older one and see nothing crawling on her. Plus, I assume if it's mites, surely ALL the chickens would be losing feathers? Like I said, this has been going on for months.
I've also noticed that both patients have become good friends. That might explain why they have similar symptoms, but even with their friendship, they roost alongside the other birds, so it's not like they haven't exposed everyone. And yet only THEY are losing feathers.
Any ideas? I still wonder if it's diet, since the oyster shells seemed to help the third hen. Maybe these two just don't like oyster shells.
Also: my sister-in-law eventually gave me ALL her chickens, and still, this old one is the only hen of hers that has this issue.
TLDR: An old brown chicken and a young Salmon Faverolle are losing their feathers. A different hen was cured with oyster shells, but these ones are still balding. Condition has been going on since at least December and has slowly been getting worse. Any suggestions?
First picture is the older chicken with a balding belly. Second and third pictures are the young Salmon Faverolle hen who is balding on her head and neck.
