Broken feathers. What is going on?

[Anna-MN]

As I watched mine, they ended up doing a "mini molt". I've read that this is common in younger hens and usually do this once before they have a real molt. Mine are only a year old. They lost the broken feathers and are starting to grow in new ones. They only lost the feathes on their lower backs and some on their necks. Just keep watching them closely!

 

[LoveLouElla]

I wondered about a possible partial molt when my young (about 11 months) Welsummer hens began to look like this, with the fuzzy undergrowth and strangely broken off feathers. I have treated for internal and external parasites with ivermectin, and have liberally sprinkled their pen and house with both D E and sevin dust. This has been going on for 2 months now. The 5 hens continue to lay as usual despite their appearance, and their eggs are fertile. The rooster shows no signs of this issue. The Welsummer pen is between a pen with Barred Rocks and one with Olive Eggers, none of whom show these symptoms. I would be interested in knowing how the rest of the chickens described here are doing now?

 

[Anna-MN]

All hens I described before are perfectly fine and after a week of not getting many eggs, they started laying again back to normal.

 

[fogandcopper]

This sounds ery much like picking. In both cases.

 

[Anna-MN]

That's what I thought it was too until all the other hens started molting as well. Everyone has their feathers back and are doing great!

 

[fogandcopper]

That's good to hear.

 

[canyoncito]

You have no idea how much I wish someone knew what was wrong with your birds because mine look just the same. I've treated endlessly for mites and now and going to deworm them, although I'm convinced that is not the problem. I can guarantee it's not feather picking, not the way the whole body is affected. And I've never seen a mite on any of my hens. I've been in a quandry for months on end. My only hope now is that they will molt and whatever was the problem is gone and they'll grow nice new feathers. I hope! Good luck and please let me know if you ever come up with a solution. Thanks!

 

[StephieSky]

You have no idea how much I wish someone knew what was wrong with your birds because mine look just the same. I've treated endlessly for mites and now and going to deworm them, although I'm convinced that is not the problem. I can guarantee it's not feather picking, not the way the whole body is affected. And I've never seen a mite on any of my hens. I've been in a quandry for months on end. My only hope now is that they will molt and whatever was the problem is gone and they'll grow nice new feathers. I hope! Good luck and please let me know if you ever come up with a solution. Thanks!

So long as you're certain its not lice, mites or an over zealous roo I did find the below information while reading up on the 5 types of feathers chickens have:

" Good feather growth and maintenance requires adequate amounts of proteins, amino acids, minerals and vitamins. No matter how much a hen may preen, if good management practices are not employed, the feather quality of your birds is likely to be poor.

There are, however, three exceptions to this.
Firstly, the very good layers in your flock are likely to have a tattered appearance, displaying broken and brittle feathers — the hen is converting the protein in her food to the production of eggs rather than pretty feathers.

Secondly, if you keep a rooster, you may find that he has one or two ‘favourite’ hens. These hens are likely to display brittle and broken feathers caused by the ‘extra’ attention they seem to attract. In such circumstances, it’s best to move the hens to a rooster-free zone.

Finally, just before and during moulting you will notice that the feather quality is poor.

Providing best management practices and ensuring your hens have an adequate and balanced diet, water and by minimising stressful conditions in your flock will help to ensure strong feathers which your hens will take great delight in keeping clean! "

 

[canyoncito]

Thank you for the information. I was wondering, did your chickens have mites or lice? Is that what caused your hen to look the way it did in the photo?

 

[StephieSky]

Thank you for the information. I was wondering, did your chickens have mites or lice? Is that what caused your hen to look the way it did in the photo?

I'm sorry thats not my bird as I'm not the original person to post. I just jumped in to share what I've learned a bit

I have two birds I adopted who are recovering from having scaly mites, blood sucking mites, roundworms and 1 with mild anemia - 1 that is severely anemic and has a persistent staph infection. I'm watching their droppings, feather condition and behaviour as a means of determining how they are responding to treatment so I spend my breaks and lunch reading about chicken poo and feathers! hah! Pretty funny I've been caught looking at diseased chickens, sad chicken feathers, grotesque chicken poo and their diagnosis at work. You should have seen my boss's face!