Bald patches around chickens' vents and super bright red skin

[fiveidahoboys]

C

What is wrong with my friend's chickens?!?!!?! They are only a year old. I had him dust them and redust about a month ago with permethrin. But they still look awful. The flock he had before this looked that bad too, but he culled them all when he got these new ones last year. Could it be they just have had lice or mites so bad that their feathers won't grow back? Maybe they need to molt first? But the skin is so irritated! I don't know about a bully. Every hen seems to have it. The speckled sussexes are the least affected, but still have it. The cuckoo marans and black sex link are the worst, and the Buff has a little. So I don't know about a bully. Anyways, thoughts? Space is adequate for them all.

 

[fiveidahoboys]

Anyone experience mites or lice this severe?

 

[emount]

My rooster has this too, but none of the hens. He's not bald there, but the feathers are thinner and it is bright red and looks the same as your photos, in the same spot. I don't know what it is.

 

[chickengirl530]

I am also having this problem...with both my roosters and a few hens...looking for info on how to treat, or if it's even something in need if treatment.

 

[fiveidahoboys]

This is what I told my friend. It's what I would do. I was hoping to get some reassurance from someone else, or a confirmation that mites could really cause this much problem.
"Have you sprayed all the wood and nesting boxes in your coop with permethrin? Your chickens look awful. You must have a really bad case of mites. I didn't see any lice sacks on them. But I'd say you have an infestation. They come out at night. They don't live on the bird. You need to disinfect that entire coop and spray it all down with permethrin. When you are done, sprinkle diatomaceous earth all over, and get something in there that you can fill with ash so they can dust bathe in it. Mix ash and diatomaceous earth in it. A tire would work well. "

 

[katplitt]

I'm having this same problem. I cleaned (removed pine shavings then vacuumed, then scrubbed) coop, twice (10 days apart) then dusted with poultry dust thoroughly. Will probably do it again. I think I see small improvement. This has been going on for a long time, I've tried to eliminate causes. Now I'm applying blue coat nightly. I wish I knew what us going on. No rooster here either.

 

[fiveidahoboys]

My friend's chicken don't look any better. He did everything I told him to. They still lay eggs!

 

[katplitt]

Mine are still laying, although they have dropped off a bit. A new theory is that they are fighting over roosting space or nesting space. Im staring to address those issues now! It's still a mystery!

 

[coach723]

If there are no mites/lice then feather picking would be my suspicion. Common causes are overcrowding, boredom, or not enough protein in the diet. So increasing space they have could help, you can search for chicken boredom busters for ideas on that, and you can switch to or mix in a higher protein feed like a grower feed or feather fixer. If you switch to a higher protein feed make sure to offer oyster shell free choice all the time in a separate feeder as the non-layer feeds do not have enough calcium for laying hens. It takes time for feathers to grow back, often not until the next molt.