Chicken missing neck feathers?

[Miss Chickpea]

hi all,

One of my girls is missing neck feathers. She is the only one in the bunch.

New to this...any thoughts on what is/has happened? I’ve read molting, mites, lice, etc. With no one else showing signs I’m hoping to rule out the latter two, but is this what molting looks like?

Help.

Thank you!

 

[DobieLover]

Have you checked her over for lice or mites? If she is clear of that, she is likely having a partial molt which happens on the neck quite often.
Where is she in the pecking order?

 

[Miss Chickpea]

Yes, I did check her over and didn’t see anything. Would they be directly on her skin? Maybe I’ll do a quick double check...

I’ve got 11 hens and 1 roo, I’d say she is in the middle. I’m tying to keep a closer eye on her now...it’s cold here right now (-20) so they have been cooped up for about 2 weeks where normally they get out in the run and free range. Maybe there was a spat? I give them lots of treats and snacks and they have plenty of room so otherwise quite happy!

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

Do you have a rooster????

 

[Miss Chickpea]

Yes, 1 rooster

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Her comb looks nice and red... as if she is laying? When was her last egg? How old is she?

Roosters don't usually cause that type of damage. Can you make out pin feathers... the new ones growing in? This is what I usually see when someone had to scuffle with one of my Silkies.

Checking for parasites is best done after dark with a flashlight. It tells a completely different story. Be sure and part the feathers on the abdomen and just below the vent. Look for eggs attached to feather bases and anything running away.

This is not molt as far as I can tell when I zoom in closely... what looks like it could be pins are actually bare or very frayed feather shafts. Good news, most parasites are easily treated. Though others may not be showing signs all should be treated. Their immune systems may be fighting stuff off better currently, but we don't wanna make them a target. It is very normal for not all members to be equally effected by things.

Please note some parasites only come out to feed and don't live on the birds while others may actually be microscopic so never seen at all..

 

[Relleoms]

My girls have been “grooming” each other and one is missing feathers in a similar pattern. I feed a wet mash and sometimes food gets stuck in her beard. My guess is she’s also been the victim of an over-zealous flock mate, especially if they’ve been cooped up & bored.

 

[sourland]

It looks to me as if a flockmate is feather pecking/plucking her.

 

[Miss Chickpea]

Her comb looks nice and red... as if she is laying? When was her last egg? How old is she?

Roosters don't usually cause that type of damage. Can you make out pin feathers... the new ones growing in? This is what I usually see when someone had to scuffle with one of my Silkies.

Checking for parasites is best done after dark with a flashlight. It tells a completely different story. Be sure and part the feathers on the abdomen and just below the vent. Look for eggs attached to feather bases and anything running away.

This is not molt as far as I can tell when I zoom in closely... what looks like it could be pins are actually bare or very frayed feather shafts. Good news, most parasites are easily treated. Though others may not be showing signs all should be treated. Their immune systems may be fighting stuff off better currently, but we don't wanna make them a target. It is very normal for not all members to be equally effected by things.

Please note some parasites only come out to feed and don't live on the birds while others may actually be microscopic so never seen at all..

Yes, she is laying well, she is 10 months. Thanks for the tips, I’ll go check tonight with a flash light. I have been adding diatomaceous earth to their coop and bathing areas so I was hopeful that would be sufficient enough to keep mites off of them.

It almost looks like the feathers are broken? I don’t really seen pin feathers.

I’ll keep a close eye on her!

 

[Miss Chickpea]

My girls have been “grooming” each other and one is missing feathers in a similar pattern. I feed a wet mash and sometimes food gets stuck in her beard. My guess is she’s also been the victim of an over-zealous flock mate, especially if they’ve been cooped up & bored.

Weather is suppose to warm up over the weekend so they will all be free to run around and get some space. I’ll keep an eye to make sure she isn’t being bullied too much!