Chicken afflicted with quite a few problems

farmerAL

Hatching
Oct 21, 2021
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okay so first some background, we have 20 chickens or so 2 roosters (they do not compete with each other overly, one is much older) they live in a coop we lock every night and have a large area to go during the day. The chickens are many breeds however we have had 3 meat breed hens who are about 3 years old (we do not use them for meat only eggs so they are not extremely obese.) one of the meat breeds is fine and seems to have no problems. another one at around two years old seemed to have a problem walking we could never figure out and is still alive (just limping and bottom of pecking order). and the third is the one we have been having the most problems with. first about 6 months ago it began losing weight and molting. It was spring at the time and we assumed the missing feathers and weight loss was just from other chickens being mean. however in the past month its gotten worse. Now it has lost almost all of its feathers (but for some reason its shaft, the hard pokey part is still there giving her a porcupine like appearance.) and was limping, along with being extremely small. we seperated it and made sure it had enough food and water and begun researching the problem. just today (fall keep in mind) it is now still looking pretty bad. she seems to function fine (running out to meet us does not mope around at all) but her come is slightly bloody, and skin underneath is slightly yellow (along with the previous problems.) We are wondering if all of this is a mix of things (maybe failing liver, hurt by predator, hurt by other chickens, some kind of other sickness) we are unable to help her. If anyone has advice please respond ASAP!
 
When you say "meat chickens," do you mean cornish crosses or a specific breed/other mix? Cornish crosses are not bred for longevity, even if you keep them slimmed down. There could be a wide variety of issues.
You may want to post some pictures. It may help. It would definitely tell us if the feather shafts are broken or just new pinfeathers growing in from an exceptionally haard molt. For now, keep her isolated and warm. Check her stool. If there is blood in it, you could be dealing with coccidiosis. That is easily treated with amprolium (often sold as Corid.)
 
When you say "meat chickens," do you mean cornish crosses or a specific breed/other mix? Cornish crosses are not bred for longevity, even if you keep them slimmed down. There could be a wide variety of issues.
You may want to post some pictures. It may help. It would definitely tell us if the feather shafts are broken or just new pinfeathers growing in from an exceptionally haard molt. For now, keep her isolated and warm. Check her stool. If there is blood in it, you could be dealing with coccidiosis. That is easily treated with amprolium (often sold as Corid.)
I am fairly sure it is not a cornish cross or half cornish and I will get you some photos tomorrow as soon as I can find her (despite looking pretty bad is full of spirit and seems really good at escaping the area we are keeping her)
 
okay first for comparision is the one healthy one of the group that i got this one in (sorry for bad photos)
IMG_20211022_080706.jpg
IMG_20211022_080545.jpg IMG_20211022_080531.jpg IMG_20211022_081552.jpg IMG_20211022_081540.jpg
 
That looks like whatever issues she's having are combined with a hard molt. Check very closely (around her vent and in the bare spots) for mites. There are lots of OTC treatments for mites, but remember to fully clean and treat the coop and run, too, including nest boxes and roosts. Those little buggers hide everywhere!
Her legs look pretty "pink" too - have you checked for scaly leg mites? The most obvious telltale for those is raised scaling along her feet and legs. You can get a mite spray for that, but I find the best treatment for mine is to keep the legs and feet coated with petroleum jelly for a week or two. That smothers them. Remember to treat everyone if you see any signs on even one bird. Mites can be hard to get rid of, but persistence pays off!
 
That looks like whatever issues she's having are combined with a hard molt. Check very closely (around her vent and in the bare spots) for mites. There are lots of OTC treatments for mites, but remember to fully clean and treat the coop and run, too, including nest boxes and roosts. Those little buggers hide everywhere!
Her legs look pretty "pink" too - have you checked for scaly leg mites? The most obvious telltale for those is raised scaling along her feet and legs. You can get a mite spray for that, but I find the best treatment for mine is to keep the legs and feet coated with petroleum jelly for a week or two. That smothers them. Remember to treat everyone if you see any signs on even one bird. Mites can be hard to get rid of, but persistence pays off!
Okay I will try these things, Thanks!
 

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