black polish HELP!

[CalvinHabba]

This has been going on for a long time now. My polish chicken is losing hair on its head but nit really bleeding, it looks like one of the other chickens are doing it but i have no evidence.Is this an issue?

 

[Suzie]

Having looked at the photograph...it may be due to moulting..are they pin feathers showing?

If no pin feathers it may be due to a rooster mounting her.....do you have a rooster?

 

[CalvinHabba]

Well i do not know what pin feathers are and i am pretty sure that is not moulting because none of the others are. It is 91 days old. I do not have any roosters.@suzie

 

[Suzie]

Pin feathers look like small spikes...it is where the new feathers start coming in ...moulting can take quite some time..have you noticed any feathers lying in the coop? When they moult you will see an increasing number of feathers lying around. She is very young though for a moult.....

If she were being pecked at I would expect some bloody areas and there do not appear to be any.

Have they been treated for lice/mite infestations? She may have some irritation that she is scratching at.... or maybe rubbing her neck against some structure.

 

[Suzie]

It is of course possible that she is being pecked at by her flockmates..if there is one dominant hen it is likely that she is low in the pecking order...it may be a good idea to isolate a dominant hen for a few days ( if that is the case ) ...only your observations will throw some light on this.

Does she seem to integrate well with the others and has she lost any weight?

If she is showing any bloody areas...she will need some blue kote...as the others may peck at her and injure her badly.

 

[CalvinHabba]

They have not been treated and i do not know where i could find a chicken vet in Waterford Michigan.
There have been alot of feathers in the cage but not most of them are the ones on his head for they are to large.@suzie

 

[Suzie]

You should be able to buy blue-kote and Sevin dust at (hopefully) a tractor supply...and treat them at home yourself.

I hope somebody else here may suggest another theory as to why she is losing feathers from her neck area.....

 

[CalvinHabba]

Thanks and the loosing feathers are in the head area@suzie