Chicken losing feathers and weight

[chookchick]

There is a mite called a depluming mite, and I don't believe it is visible to the naked eye. This mite causes them so much irritation they pull their own feathers out. I would get the ivermectin pour-on and treat this poor gal just in case. Make sure she is getting plenty to eat (not getting driven off by the others) and hand feed her some high-protein treats as mentioned above. Watch carefully to see if any others are pecking at her.

 

[aveca]

It would be worth some lice mite powder and just go out w flashlight when they are in roost.
something is irritating to this bird but funny you dont mention any of the others being affected.

Has there been any even small changes in her surroundings? moved freind? too many vitamins? anything out of the ordinary?

Beleive it or not, these birds do have a social order and they get quietly very upset about little things and a neurodematological issues can show up. People think they are just stupid chcikens and for the most part they are but they do have feelings and are a living breathing creature . When I moved the rooster and 2 hens to the breeding shed, the hens in the big hen house began picking on each other and a little on themselves, they were normally super mild mannered and easy going so It kind of took me by suprise to see them so vocal and abusive to each other, A couple of them really had issues about this..I would have thought it might have been like a vacation to have that rooster out of there, I couldnt have been more wrong. some are bothered more than others. Things have calmed down now but for a couple weeks I was tending boo boos , went ahead and lice dusted everyone, rooster has a terrible molt going on after the move and shortened daylight hours probably triggered it the move probably made it worse he looks a little like a turken. and you can tell hes embarrassed about it by the way he carries himself

 

[eggsited chickens]

I guess I should mention that several others are missing feathers on their backs, but they aren't pecking themselves like she is. Blue kote seem to help them. Every couple days I put the blue kote on. and some feathers seem to be growing back on them.

 

[M To The Maxx]

You need to dust ALL of your chickens, the coops, and the nest boxes before this gets out of control.

 

[aveca]

usually that back feather thing is rooster damage, also might be group molt due to this time of year the lower hours of sunlight can trigger it.

but seriously the lice powder is fairly cheap and it lasts a long long time , its pretty easy to do , rather than chasing them around and catching them, wait till they roost at night I wear a surgical mask, hospitals will give you a handful if you ask ,Just tell them what you are doing and dont want to breath the stuff, they are more than happy to help, and you can wear gloves or not and dump some powder in your hand and quietly rub it down into feathers down to skin , under wings under neath and move on to the next, dont forget a little around the head and under neck. you dont have to do it very often , its pretty much a once a year chore, unless there is a real problem. lots less stress on everyone than trying to catch them.

blue kote will sooth it but wont kill the buggs, they are almost invivble to the eye, plus they can get scabies ect...and that powder will kill anything like that

also change out all of the bedding and dust in there and replace bedding rub it on roosts ect..

 

[eggsited chickens]

Any kind of dust better than another? I have the poultry and garden dust with permitherin. Is there an egg withdrawl when you dust?

 

[M To The Maxx]

Quote:
A lot of people use Sevin Dust. You can get it at HD or Lowes.

 

[aveca]

poultry garden should work ,thats what I have . never had lice because of the occasional use of it. night time and a flashlight are king with this chore, . kills a number of micro meanies. wild birds carry them in ...it will take a little while , within a week you'll see the releif ,but it takes months to replace the feathers.

 

[eggsited chickens]

Another question. Can I sprinkle some on top of the wood shavings so that they 'bathe' in it? or is it dangerous to do this? Can we still eat/sell the eggs when we use this?

 

[eggsited chickens]

I powdered some of the chickens this morning along with the one that's really bad. Then I thought I'd sprinkle a little on the floor. While I was doing this the one that is really bad decided to run around and i sprinkled it right on her head...she was white! is this bad for her? what do i do now?