Chickens are losing their neck feathers! (not molting)

[ReikiStar]

I've never seen a gnat here at our house but I will look it over. Otherwise it's sounds like it's probably the lice, by big guns I simply meant extreme measures, I read a lot of people have sucess with Ivermectin, but sounds like some pretty strong stuff, but many people also say that the DE and other powders usually only work as prevenatives. I have never treated lice before, any advice for that?

Well, Ivermectin certainly does the trick. In the past when we've had to deal with lice, we give them a bath with dog flea shampoo (with permethrin) and then spray them the coop with the MannaPro's Poultry Protector, it's a natural enzyme spray. Aside from the bath, we try to avoid exposing our chickens to toxins like Sevin.

 

[dawg53]

Sevin dust IS less toxic than ivermectin, and much safer to use against lice/mites. Sevin dust is much cheaper than ivermectin as well. Besides, if it is lice/mites, you have to treat the inside of the coop(s) as well....cant do that with ivermectin.

 

[cochins1088]

We are going to buy some DE to put in a mini pool to help and holpefully prevent this from happening again, but for now, we are going to try sevin 5% since it doesn't sound that the DE will do the job alone, and I read that ivermectin isn't the best for lice since lice eat feathers and dead skin rather than blood. How would you go about with the Sevin, some people say to dust it on the chickens, while others say just the coop. And do you just sprinkle it on, or do you have to work it in, and also is it safe to inhale, because I can just imagine dust everywhere. Thanks to all of you for the advice!

 

[cochins1088]

Oh, and Reikistar, you mentioned earlier that the neck feathers won't grow back until their next molt, I was wondering why that is. I see no new feathers starting to come in, so I believe you 100%, but I was just curious if you knew why.

 

[ReikiStar]

Oh, and Reikistar, you mentioned earlier that the neck feathers won't grow back until their next molt, I was wondering why that is. I see no new feathers starting to come in, so I believe you 100%, but I was just curious if you knew why.

Sorry, been away a few days. Birds aren't like furred animals in that they are constantly growing in new hairs. Birds are on a more seasonal schedule as they usually molt once a year and grow in new feathers once a year. Hence the missing feathers will take some time to come back.

 

[Babsicles]

That was really helpful- two of mine have been losing feathers on the underside of their necks. I will give them a live powder dust bath!

 

[goldson]

Hey guys. I have two hens that are coming up to three years old. They have been through a lot and are best friends, only now one looks ill and losing feathers. They are not laying formed eggs, but get all the scraps from the kitchen. It looks as though one is plucking feathers and the other is doing it back but not on the same scale. How do I stop it and get them back to laying formed eggs again? They are also free range and have the run of a 5 acre plot??

 

[dawg53]

Hey guys. I have two hens that are coming up to three years old. They have been through a lot and are best friends, only now one looks ill and losing feathers. They are not laying formed eggs, but get all the scraps from the kitchen. It looks as though one is plucking feathers and the other is doing it back but not on the same scale. How do I stop it and get them back to laying formed eggs again? They are also free range and have the run of a 5 acre plot??

Sounds like they are lacking protein in their diet. Give them gamebird feed to eat, that should stop the feather picking. Then wean them off the gamebird feed after about a month back to layer feed.

 

[crazy2catz]

We now have 2 chickens that are losing feathers like crazy. Our yard looks like there should be a dead chicken somewhere...it started out as just one chicken and now there are 2. And it does seem like it's mainly on the neck area. So after reading what you all have said. We should give the chickens a dust bath (which I don't even know how to do) and then clean out the hen house and spray it down? Should we do that with the area all the area around the house?

 

[Eggcessive]

We now have 2 chickens that are losing feathers like crazy. Our yard looks like there should be a dead chicken somewhere...it started out as just one chicken and now there are 2. And it does seem like it's mainly on the neck area. So after reading what you all have said. We should give the chickens a dust bath (which I don't even know how to do) and then clean out the hen house and spray it down? Should we do that with the area all the area around the house?

Do you know if your chickens are at the molt age? It's 18 month for the first big one and yearly thereafter. Of course chicks will have mini-molts during their first year too. If you create a dust-bathing area in your yard or run for the chickens they will use it on their own. Mix some dirt, sand, a little wood ash from the fireplace and that's it. It can be a dug out area or in a container like a kiddie pool.