Damaged saddle feathers...?

[Vanilla Gorilla]

So I've been noticing one of my Cuckoo Marans hens with some tattered looking feathers on her saddle area. She has one other Cuckoo Marans, and two Gold Laced Wyandottes for coop mates, and none of the other three exhibit this same damage to their feathers.

I have done a thorough inspection, and I don't see any signs of lice, or mites, or any other bugs. I am still feeding the group grower pellets with 18% protein with oyster shell free choice, because one of the GLW still isn't laying. All four were born in May, and this particular bird has been laying for about 3 weeks.

This is my first go around with chickens, and I was wondering if this is anything to worry about, and if so, what do you think is causing it. She is acting completely normal. She has been laying an egg every day, poops look normal, and normal appetite. The three pictures I attached are the best I could do, Sprinkles wasn't feeling very photogenic at the moment. She did just have a roll in the garden so that is the debris you're seeing on her.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[sourland]

My guess is that one or more of the others are feather pecking/plucking her feathers.

 

[Vanilla Gorilla]

My guess is that one or more of the others are feather pecking/plucking her feathers.

This one is kind of at the bottom of the pecking order, so I kind of suspected that might be the case. Do you think it's anything serious?

 

[sourland]

It generally starts from boredom or overcrowding and can become a persistent bad habit. As long as they are not drawing blood, it is just unsightly. If they really start denuding her you may want to consider Pin Less Peepers for the peckers. Do an on site search for more information on them.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

Are you hiding any cockerels in your group?

Do you see her preening that area a lot?

Free range or confined? How much space?

Mites and other things can be hard to see. Some are even microscopic and you will never see them. Others live under the roost or in cracks and only come out at night to feed on the bird. But to get the best look, try after dark with a flashlight and part the feathers near the vent and see if anything is running away. It helps if you have two people or a head lamp type flashlight.

If it's pecking order, why the saddle area? Seems like they usually go for the head or wings to me.

 

[Vanilla Gorilla]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

Are you hiding any cockerels in your group?

Do you see her preening that area a lot?

Free range or confined? How much space?

Mites and other things can be hard to see. Some are even microscopic and you will never see them. Others live under the roost or in cracks and only come out at night to feed on the bird. But to get the best look, try after dark with a flashlight and part the feathers near the vent and see if anything is running away. It helps if you have two people or a head lamp type flashlight.

If it's pecking order, why the saddle area? Seems like they usually go for the head or wings to me.

They are in a 5' x 16' run most of the day, but I do let them out to free range when I get home from work. I'm 99% sure there are no cockerels in the group. The last GLW that is not laying still has a smallish comb and wattles so I'm fairly confident on that front. I've never witnessed any preening, but I'm not home most of the day.

If I had some kind of mites or lice, wouldn't they all be affected instead of just this one bird? Should I treat them all for lice/mites just to be safe?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

They are in a 5' x 16' run most of the day, but I do let them out to free range when I get home from work. I'm 99% sure there are no cockerels in the group. The last GLW that is not laying still has a smallish comb and wattles so I'm fairly confident on that front. I've never witnessed any preening, but I'm not home most of the day.

If I had some kind of mites or lice, wouldn't they all be affected instead of just this one bird? Should I treat them all for lice/mites just to be safe?

No, not all birds will be infected... but IF you do treat then you should treat them all.

Parasites and illness will attack the weakest member first. Some will be naturally more resistant than others. One study showed that in California flocks 10% of birds carried 90% of the parasites even within the same flock.

And just for example... I had one girl that had accidentally gotten into my stag pen when she USED to hide her nest. They had ripped out plenty of feathers and broken other ones. But nothing seemed to be growing back for a really long time. I had treated previously because I did see lice (not in her) but nothing there after. So I took her to the vet to make sure I wasn't missing anything microscopic. He said her skin wasn't irritated and she had no current evidence of bugs but there probably was previously. Well that day I had a cock going to a new home and I always try to inspect birds before they leave. Sure enough spread his vent feathers and saw stuff running away! On the very same day one of my girls got an all clear from the vet. Sprayed him up (they die on contact but it also has residual of varying times depending on the parasite) and he lived happily ever after at his new home where he acquired 10 ladies of his own!

I use permethrin spray to battle lice/mites. It works well, safe, affordable, and easy to use. But only as needed because they can develop resistance, it won't hurt your birds. You seem to be fairly aware, so I would just keep an eye out and not treat unless you do see something. Mine is actually labeled horse fly spray and I bought it to keep mosquitoes off my goats and dogs, but discovered it was labeled for other uses. I spent under$10 for the trigger bottle full and it has lasted me 2 years with my flock hovering around 60+, 3 large dogs, and 2 goats.

One other thing I will mention... I personally wouldn't switch to layer feed since all your birds are actually dual purpose, they do a little better with more protein than light bodied layers like leghorn. Since I have all genders and ages in my flock, I use flock raiser (20% protein) with the OS free choice on the side (grower is OK to). It has been shown that you get better hatches and chick vitality with more protein which to me says more nutrition inside the egg for my family. Anyways, that is what works for me and my preference from the research I've done.

Of course pecking order is suspect. And none of these broken pieces will grow back until she molts, just so you know. Just because that isn't where I normally see my pecking order damage doesn't mean anything! I see something new all the time. Each flock has different dynamics. Some hens even grow spurs and crow though it isn't common. And how many times have I seen people with broody hens that are allegedly not broody breeds or had the broody bred out of them. Just saying I don't doubt that things can appear in a different manner in another flock then what I am used to seeing.

 

[Vanilla Gorilla]

So - This being Thanksgiving weekend, I was able to spend some time observing my chickens. It does appear that bird in the original post is constantly pecking at all the others on their saddle area. It makes sense that her own saddle is in the worst condition - she gets bored of pecking at herself and goes after her flock mates.

My next question is: what do I do about that? Is it a lack of protein? Is it boredom? Is it just an obsessive behavior that this one bird is doing?

I was thinking of putting a can of tuna out there for them in case it was a protein deficiency. Does that make any sense?

I think the next bag of feed I buy will have a higher protein level.

Again, any input is appreciated!