Clean Chickens vs. Dirty Roosters??

[CoopBoots]

Hi! Still learning the ropes here so forgive what might be kind of a stupid observation and question. I welcome your thoughts!

In my limited experience, chickens are normally pretty clean. I know they have feather dander, take dirt baths, and poop everywhere (and step in it a lot, eww), but they almost always end up with smooth, good looking feathers that are clean from quill/skin end to tip.

HOWEVER, my current rooster seems to struggle with his hygiene. While he constantly preens, bathes, and suns, he never really seems to do a good job! He's always a bit dusty and there are areas (like his tail base and his legs) that actually stay very dingy if you look any deeper than the surface. I finally started to wonder if something was wrong and, lol and behold...

MITES. My poor boy. Everyone is getting treatment ASAP but my main question is this. Does he have this hygiene issue because of the mites, or does his laziness or inability to preen properly make him more susceptible to this problem?? Also, are roosters just worse at hygiene in general or is my guy an outlier here?

Anyway, lesson learned: Even if he's hard to handle and I dislike hunting him down, I have to closely inspect ALL my birds regularly. Not just the nice hens!

 

[Isadora]

Aw, sorry about the mites.
My rooster has always kept himself very clean. I doubt it's a gender thing so much as it is an individual personality thing.

 

[3KillerBs]

I haven't had a case of mites in my flock, but IIRC they ARE known to cause problems with feather condition.

I handle my rooster -- and all my birds, really -- off the roost at night when I do my regular checks.

 

[Ecarroll]

Mine is very proud of his fancy silkie feathers, so yes he keeps clean! (All the hens are standard chicken breeds so he thinks he’s special )