Chicks loosing feathers/gaping mouths NY

[erthymom2]

I got a call from a newbie chicken owner in my quilting group with a question that stumped me:
Her chicks of 8 weeks are all loosing their feathers on their bellys and vent area, seem to be lethargic, and scrunch up their shoulders and open-mouth gap alot.
any ideas?? I thought maybe cocci or some kind of virul stuff, but its been really wet up here for weeks and maybe the chicks have picked up something else. she says she just noticed the older ones also seem to have lost weight.
thanks.

 

[Blue_Myst]

Here's a bump!

What temperature is it there? It could be they are stressed from the heat, but I don't know. If they're all losing feathers, it's probably a lice or mite problem, or feather pulling.

It could be cocci, as you said, but the open-mouth gaping doesn't seem to click with that disease. I could be wrong, though.

 

[Judy]

Yes, she certainly needs to check for lice/mites. And yes, the gaping might be heat, if it is that hot there. There is also a worm called gapeworm that you could research; carried to chickens by earthworms.