do birds molt in this cold?

[vent12]

I have a hen I found 2 days ago with missing tail feathers and blood on her back above the tail, I separated her to avoid pecking from the others and put her in an area with a heat lamp in my garage and this morning she has lost or pulled out her feathers on her neck. she is a approximately 1 year old and she is a a white leghorn. Any ideas?

 

[foreverlearning]

Yes they do, but with blood being found I would suspect parasites or a feather picker.

 

[vent12]

parasites on only 1 bird ? and what is a picker? how do I treat parasites?

 

[foreverlearning]

Yes you can have parasites on only one bird, that's how a problem starts. Wild birds fly by or sit in your trees and some mites or lice fall off and go to the most compatible thing, chickens. Check the vent and feather shafts for something that looks like a q tip or really tiny bugs. If so, dust bird and coop with poultry dust or sevin 5%. The coop will need a good cleaning and repeat in 7-10 days. A feather picker is literally one of your birds plucking the feathers out of another bird. The three main causes for feather picking is parasites, not enough protein, or she is just a bully.

 

[Wyandottes7]

Yes you can have parasites on only one bird, that's how a problem starts. Wild birds fly by or sit in your trees and some mites or lice fall off and go to the most compatible thing, chickens. Check the vent and feather shafts for something that looks like a q tip or really tiny bugs. If so, dust bird and coop with poultry dust or sevin 5%. The coop will need a good cleaning and repeat in 7-10 days. A feather picker is literally one of your birds plucking the feathers out of another bird. The three main causes for feather picking is parasites, not enough protein, or she is just a bully.

X2

 

[BantamLover21]

Yes, chickens do molt at this time of year, and in cold temperatures. But I don't think that is what is wrong with your hen; I would suspect parasites or picking.

 

[Nambroth]

They sure can molt in the cold, much to our distress! But if you are finding blood, I would be much more suspicious of one of your other chickens... either intentionally pulling feathers off of her, or an overly-amorous rooster being too rough.

 

[vent12]

I haven't any roosters so my girls are innocent to that. with it being -15 can the parasites survive in the cold? and with the dust do you catch them and just dump it on them like baby powder?

 

[foreverlearning]

I haven't any roosters so my girls are innocent to that. with it being -15 can the parasites survive in the cold? and with the dust do you catch them and just dump it on them like baby powder?

Yes, they survive on the body heat of the hen itself. I dump it as close to the vent as possible and under the wings, then I'll slowly tip her back over and place her on her feet. Once on the feet they shake like just after a dust bath and it works it's way in to the skin level all over. There are many ways to dust a bird but all require that you keep it out of their face.

 

[vent12]

Thank you so much, seems like you just keep learning things. it's nice to have a place to turn for help. I also would like to know if you can use the diamatious earth as a natural way.