Bald Chickens Neck

[nugget3215]

Hello to you all
This is my first post so please be gentle. My pet chicken ( Madge ) has had mites and we have treated her with NETTEX total mite kill powder. We think she is mite free now because she is not losing any more feathers and all is well in the egg department, she is a very happy chicken ( 18 months old ). My question is why is she still scratching the bald area on her neck, it does look very slightly red, and when will she get her feathers back? She is the only one in our flock of 4 that has had this problem.I have posted a picture of Madge but i am sure you are all aware its difficult to get a good pic of a chicken when its running around at 100 MPH Any help would be fantastic thanks, Paula

 

[Jen the Hen]

Did the feathers grow back? I have several hens with same problem...

 

[000]

I am going to try to address everything:

I treat my chickens with Revolution for mites. It is typically used for dogs and cats, but I find it to work WAY better than any other product. Also, with any product, you need to treat everyone in your flock, not just the infested.

Check her at night after dark. They will swarm the vent after dark so turn her upside down, pull back the feathers around there, and have someone else use a flashlight to check. Turning them upside down is not bad for them, so don't worry.

I had a chicken that was almost entirely bad for almost 2 years. There is no problem with it except I put had to put a heat lamp on her when it was really cold at night. But she grew her feathers back in buy herself a few years latter. You can try giving her cheap cat kibble. The cheap kind has more grain, so don't buy the expensive stuff. It is said to help them grow back feathers.

She probably pecks at it because she is confused about why she is bald. I will find some pictures of my hen after she dropped hers. Her whole back was inflamed and bright red. Mine scratched at hers too. Don't worry about her, she will be fine.

Good luck and welcome to BYC!

-G