Concerned about bare patches

[Rosechuk]

Hey, there Backyard Chicken folks,

I am new to the world of chickens, but loving them so far. My wife and I recently inherited a flock of laying chickens when we bought our home.

There are several of the 17 birds that have had red irritated bare patches around their vents or on their undersides since we got them. We have been concerned about these, and unsure what to do. We havent really noticed anything getting that much worse, so we have just let them be, but they also have not gotten better. We assume that they are getting pecked by some of the bigger more aggressive hens and we observe some pecking and stuff in the flock but nothing that seems too crazy, just general bickering, etc.

Today, my wife came home and noticed that one of our more timid hens had a big bare spot on her back all of a sudden. The skin underneath is white and not red and irritated like a couple of other chickens, and we noticed that she was scratching around a little with her mouth and it looks like the feathers were just kinda falling out.

I guess, I am wondering 2 things. How concerned should I be with the hens with the irritated red patches and how can I tell if this is just a normal molt starting on this new hen or if something else is going on. I have read that the molt usually starts at the head or neck, and this is on the back, but it seems weird that the feathers would just seem to be falling out if it was a pecking issue, or some kind of pest or insect.

Here is a picture of the bird with the new bare patch:

Any advice would be very much appreciated!

Thanks!
John

 

[Attack Chicken]

My guess is lice or mites. There are tons of posts on what to kill the little bloodsuckers with.


Oh to!

 

[ChickBond 007]

Get some D.E. in that coop and you'll all feel better.

 

[Rosechuk]

Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

DE is a preventative, not a treatment. You need either sevin or poultry dust (permethrin), or to bathe them all in dog flea/tick shampoo. You can also use a flea/tick spray.

The lost feathers on her back look to be in the area where they lose feathers to a rooster who loves on htem a bit too much. However it could be the start of a molt--it's that time of year. My back porch looks like the dog chewed up a feather pillow--well not *quite* that bad, but nearly.

 

[Rosechuk]

I am starting to read the forums about mites. I am not at home this week, but I will inspect them for mites this weekend to see if I can find evidence. I am reading up on Sevin and Poultry Dust in the forums.

The picture doesn't really show it very well, but my wife said it is quite a large bare patch, about 4x6 inches, that goes under her wings.

I have only seen our funny little rooster try to visit the ladies (who are about twice his size) once, and that didn't seem to work out well for him, as he was immediately brushed off. He doesn't seem to have much drive in that department.

There are quite a few feathers around, but since I am new, I can't tell if it is more than usual. It doesn't seem like a ton of feathers to me, but they are around for sure. When a molt happens, should you see evidence that new feathers are growing in at the same time or would there be just a big bare patch?

thanks again!