I put this under emergencies and diseases but I think it should be under Predators and Pests...
I have 13 hens just over 1 yr. old. I got them from Meyers as chicks. No rooster. None appear sick, all eat well, I get between 7-11 eggs/day and no lethargy, puffing up or bad looking poo. No signs of worms in the poo.
They are in a prefab coop bought new and have about 3 sq ft/bird but only use it to lay eggs/sleep. I use sand on the floor, pdz on poop board and a light sprinkle of seven on the bottom of nest boxes with a mix of shavings/straw on top. They have a very large run with sand in it. I clean the poop board and coop floor with a kitty litter scoop every single day and use the kitty scoop in the run 2-3X a day as well. From what I can tell it is a very clean area. They are not lounging in their poo all day is what I'm getting at. They don't free range.
Right now I'm feeding Agway Egg layer crumbles feed with oyster shell offered in another container as well. I recently switched(maybe 4-6 weeks ago) to this from Purina Layena although they are still finishing up the Purina pellets. I have most of the feeder with the Agway feed and just a corner of the pellets in there. They get sunflower seeds, dried meal worms, cracked corn, some veggie/meat/fruit scraps, scrambled eggs (something every day of the above, not all in one day!) and all winter I was taking their feed and making a mash with warm water to warm them up. They love that and think it is a treat.
Now for the issues:
The first pic is my BA with a balding head and she also has a bare belly. No redness just bare of feathers. She has never been broody. Her head is not bloody or scabby, but bare and a little pink.
Last pic is my BR, her head is fine but belly is bare, dry skin and as you can see horribly red.
Middle pic is my Cuckoo Marans and it looks like she just has really bad dry skin on her belly
I have a CW with balding head, not nearly as bad as BA, more like thinning feathers, and no other issues
I have a Cochin with bare belly no redness and she was broody a few times last summer so I thought her bare belly was from pulling feathers out cause she was broody but I didn't notice any of this happening until about 1-2 weeks ago.
All other birds look fine. I went out tonight after dark with a flashlight and didn't see anything on them. No signs of lice (unless someone tells me pic #2 are the eggs but it just looks like dry skin to me)
I don't see any signs of a dominant hen mounting the 2 with balding heads but I don't watch them 24/7. I do have one RIR that patrols the nests constantly and decides who lays and does peck their heads/neck to get out of the nest. I am in the process of finding her a new home.
I am at a loss. I completely cleaned the coop and sprayed the walls/floor with liquid Sevin yesterday and don't have a problem doing them too but with the redness on my BR and all the other bare belly/chests I didn't want to irritate it further.
Do you think this is lice or mites? Worms?
Thank you for your help!
I have 13 hens just over 1 yr. old. I got them from Meyers as chicks. No rooster. None appear sick, all eat well, I get between 7-11 eggs/day and no lethargy, puffing up or bad looking poo. No signs of worms in the poo.
They are in a prefab coop bought new and have about 3 sq ft/bird but only use it to lay eggs/sleep. I use sand on the floor, pdz on poop board and a light sprinkle of seven on the bottom of nest boxes with a mix of shavings/straw on top. They have a very large run with sand in it. I clean the poop board and coop floor with a kitty litter scoop every single day and use the kitty scoop in the run 2-3X a day as well. From what I can tell it is a very clean area. They are not lounging in their poo all day is what I'm getting at. They don't free range.
Right now I'm feeding Agway Egg layer crumbles feed with oyster shell offered in another container as well. I recently switched(maybe 4-6 weeks ago) to this from Purina Layena although they are still finishing up the Purina pellets. I have most of the feeder with the Agway feed and just a corner of the pellets in there. They get sunflower seeds, dried meal worms, cracked corn, some veggie/meat/fruit scraps, scrambled eggs (something every day of the above, not all in one day!) and all winter I was taking their feed and making a mash with warm water to warm them up. They love that and think it is a treat.
Now for the issues:
The first pic is my BA with a balding head and she also has a bare belly. No redness just bare of feathers. She has never been broody. Her head is not bloody or scabby, but bare and a little pink.
Last pic is my BR, her head is fine but belly is bare, dry skin and as you can see horribly red.
Middle pic is my Cuckoo Marans and it looks like she just has really bad dry skin on her belly
I have a CW with balding head, not nearly as bad as BA, more like thinning feathers, and no other issues
I have a Cochin with bare belly no redness and she was broody a few times last summer so I thought her bare belly was from pulling feathers out cause she was broody but I didn't notice any of this happening until about 1-2 weeks ago.
All other birds look fine. I went out tonight after dark with a flashlight and didn't see anything on them. No signs of lice (unless someone tells me pic #2 are the eggs but it just looks like dry skin to me)
I don't see any signs of a dominant hen mounting the 2 with balding heads but I don't watch them 24/7. I do have one RIR that patrols the nests constantly and decides who lays and does peck their heads/neck to get out of the nest. I am in the process of finding her a new home.
I am at a loss. I completely cleaned the coop and sprayed the walls/floor with liquid Sevin yesterday and don't have a problem doing them too but with the redness on my BR and all the other bare belly/chests I didn't want to irritate it further.
Do you think this is lice or mites? Worms?
Thank you for your help!
