Dandruff

[GloriaH]

Pumpkin my Silkie has dandruff really bad. She shakes her head and scratches. Any ideas? I don't see any signs of bugs.

 

[Tuffoldhen]

It's call poultry dander and all chickens have it...it is a white powdery film.....in fact all birds have it...I had a goffin cockatoo and left dander everywhere...

 

[GloriaH]

I know what you are talking about...This is not that. This is like flakes. Mostly on her head and neck. Could it be from not having a chance to take dust baths? She is a house Chicken

 

[SeaChick]

Gloria-
Our hen Penelope had something like "dandruff". Very flaky skin and/or feather shafts (you could see larger pieces of what appeared to be broken cylindrical flakes off the feather shafts). She had this when she had an impacted crop which was affecting her nutrient/food absorbtion. She also got very skinny. I don't know for sure, but I felt it was due to the lack of nutrition.... like when people are very ill and their hair and skin get dull, flaky, hair falls out..... anyway when she recovered and started gaining weight again, the "dandruff" improved.
Is your chicken acting fine otherwise? Not losing weight?
Maybe you are right about the dust bathing, though. This hen of ours had just come to us a week before and was still getting used to her surroundings. maybe she was too freaked out to dustbathe..... and then we brought her inside to a dog crate while she was sick..... I guess it's possible it was lack of dustbathing!
Why not set up a dust bath for her and then see if she still has it?
Stacey

 

[Tuffoldhen]

Try putting more protein in her diet......like wet cat food, small portions at a time and black oiled sunflower seeds...

 

[GloriaH]

She is on a 16% protien layer feed now. I also put whole flax seed in her feed. About 2 cups to 50lbs. of feed. Do you think some fresh greens might help. How about some kind of oil in here feed to help her skin? I need to watch Gourdie her man now too. I just put them together yesterday. Stacey... I just finished reading all the posts about your chicken. I found it really interesting. I thought you handled it well.

 

[SpottedCrow]

Does it looks waxy?
Has she moulted recently?
It could be the covering coming off the feathers.

 

[silkiechicken]

I think it's probably the feather sheaths coming off of her new feathers. It tends to collect on the head and neck because they can't reach those areas to preen. Especially if they don't have chicken friends to help out.

Dust baths also help and they dislodge the feather sheaths by rubbing their heads into the dirt.