broken/missing feathers won't regrow

[NewFlockOnTheBlock]

Got it, thank you for explaining about pour-on ivermectin! Our feed store will reopen tomorrow and I'll pick some up.

We do actually have worms here, and at least one chicken in our flock had worms this summer; I saw some roundworms in a poop before treating with the injectable Ivermectin in the water. No visible worms since then but still seeing some questionable looking poop sometimes, so planning to send samples to our state veterinary lab and have them test for parasites and cocci.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

a friend who has had chickens for over 10 years and has done a ton of research on poultry care told us that using injectable Ivermectin in the water is supposed to be effective for both worms and mites. He does 4 days on Ivermectin, then I believe about 10 days off, then 4 days on again. It appears that our flock does not currently have worms (knock on wood),

I would like to see links to your friends resources... I am here to learn as much as I can.

Too many times, we get pore advice from trusted advisers who have "always done it that way"... and never NOTICED a problem.

Only large round worms and tape worms can be seen in droppings. All others, only their oocyst (microscopic eggs) will pass while the adult will stay behind in the intestines. I see that you already intend to send in a fecal sample for testing, that's awesome!

If you ever do need to use a permethrin based spray.. it also is not soaking the whole bird, but just tiny spritzes at specific points. The stuff is very effective.. If I thought I was TRULY treating for depluming mites... I might treat everyone... I haven't researched them heavily yet. You can have them confirmed through a skin scraping... my vet charges $54 for "exotic" pets to visit and the scraping would be extra... if they felt the need to do it according to what they were seeing, If that were an option for you. I don't know if it's possible get skin scrapings to the same resource you were planning to send droppings, that would would be great.

The dosage support team has already been called on. I would think externally applying a small drop even if measuring and weighing is required MIGHT be easier than making sure the get a whole dose directly in a beak... BUT... maybe there are secrets I don't know!

 

[NewFlockOnTheBlock]

All right, picked up some pour-on ivermectin today and treated our girl. Keeping her inside tonight for observation. If she handles the dosage OK, I will probably treat the entire flock as they are all scratching quite a bit, even though no one shows the kind of feather damage that she has.

Re: my friend's source to back up the use of injectable ivermectin in water, I'm not sure... I do know that he has studied Gail Damerow's Chicken Health Handbook (which I've borrowed from him in the past but do not currently have a copy of). He also owns several more general-purpose books on raising chickens, and researches stuff online, including this forum.

In other news, sent off some of our flock's collective poop in to the state lab for testing this morning, woohoo! Looking forward to finding out the results, hopefully in the next week or so.

 

[NewFlockOnTheBlock]

So... question about applying pour-on ivermectin. Is it OK to just put it on the feathers on the back of a chicken's neck, or should I separate the feathers to really make sure it gets onto the skin?

With Chanterelle, our bare-backed chicken, we made sure that most of the ivermectin ended up on her skin, which was easy. However, seeing as many of our other chickens appear to be scratching excessively, I decided to treat the whole flock last night, and just squeezed the ivermectin from a graduated dropper onto the feathers on the back of their necks. Some of the chickens shook themselves off afterwards, but because it appears to be an alcohol-based solution (or something else that is equally acrid smelling and fast drying), I'm fairly sure that most of it got absorbed into the feathers at least. But, now I'm thinking that I should have made more of an effort to put it directly on their skin?

 

[rebrascora]

No, it needs to make contact with the skin and you need to pull the feathers forward to expose the skin for application. The chemical is absorbed through the skin into the blood stream and then distributed throughout the body in order to kill the mites all over the chicken. Putting it on a few feathers will not achieve anything.

 

[NewFlockOnTheBlock]

Bummer, I'm going to have to redo it. Glad I checked. Thank you for explaining!

 

[NewFlockOnTheBlock]

Well, 2.5 months after treating with pour-on ivermectin for a suspected case of depluming mites, our poor Chanterelle looks almost exactly the same... Her skin is MAYBE a tad more bumpy, potentially indicating that feathers are starting to form underneath the surface, and one or two small pin feathers are sticking out of her back, but progress has been so slow and barely noticeable that sometimes I suspect that there is no progress at all, just wishful thinking on my part.

What do you all think based on the pics below? Does it look like her feathers will start growing back in any time soon? Any other ideas as to what could be going on? She is still her perky and friendly self and does not appear to be scratching or grooming excessively, except when we sometimes take the saddle apron off at night (she is in the house overnight). Then she goes all over her back with her beak and will often sort of pull at some of the bumps or pin feathers.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

This started as feather loss due to over-mating this past summer but our rooster in not mating with Chanterelle much these days, I'd say maybe once a day at the most.

She is not showing any signs of molting

Our one other hen that had a bare back due our over-zealous rooster regrew the feathers during her molt.

Well, 2.5 months after treating with pour-on ivermectin for a suspected case of depluming mites, our poor Chanterelle looks almost exactly the same... Her skin is MAYBE a tad more bumpy, potentially indicating that feathers are starting to form underneath the surface, and one or two small pin feathers are sticking out of her back, but progress has been so slow

What do you all think based on the pics below? Does it look like her feathers will start growing back in any time soon? Any other ideas as to what could be going on?

How old is she?
Looks like damage from overmating to me. She has not molted, so those will not be replaced until she molts.

Feather shafts are still intact in the skin, those won't grow new until she molts.
She is still being mated correct? Even if she's not being overmated now, she is still over time have more feather damage.

Put a saddle on her to protect her back. The skin doesn't look in too bad of condition, but the saddle will help a little.

 

[NewFlockOnTheBlock]

Chanterelle is approximately 1.5 years old.

Our rooster still mates with her but not nearly as much. We got him more hens and he has a new favorite (Whose feathers look fine so far, knock on wood.)

We don't know if Chanterelle has ever molted. If she did, she may have had a very soft molt. She may possibly be molting now as I can feel new feathers coming in on her belly. I can look more closely in the next day or two.

She has worn a saddle apron for the past couple of months to protect the bare skin and to keep her a bit warmer during our freezing winter weather. For the past month or so, we've been bringing her into the house overnight, and sometimes we take the apron off for the night so her skin can breathe, but usually we keep it on. You can sort of see it in the pictures I posted; it's pushed aside in the second photo to expose the back for the pic.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Chanterelle is approximately 1.5 years old.

Our rooster still mates with her but not nearly as much. We got him more hens and he has a new favorite (Whose feathers look fine so far, knock on wood.)

We don't know if Chanterelle has ever molted. If she did, she may have had a very soft molt. She may possibly be molting now as I can feel new feathers coming in on her belly. I can look more closely in the next day or two.

She has worn a saddle apron for the past couple of months to protect the bare skin and to keep her a bit warmer during our freezing winter weather. For the past month or so, we've been bringing her into the house overnight, and sometimes we take the apron off for the night so her skin can breathe, but usually we keep it on. You can sort of see it in the pictures I posted; it's pushed aside in the second photo to expose the back for the pic.

She might molt before spring, but you never know with chickens!
If not, then probably late summer.
I have used saddles before and just left them on, they do help a little with feather and skin damage. The rooster doesn't mean to cause damage, it's just the way it is, as a rooster gets older they aren't quite as clumsy and loss may become less.