Dry brown bittle feathers (Rachis)

[Wokawidget]

Hi,

We are looking after some chickens while people are on holiday.
They are 3-4 yar old ISAs.
I noticed one had lost a patch of feathers about 2 inches square a the front at the base of the neck...almost looks as if it's starting to got bald.

All the other feathers don't look right.
Normally the Rachis part of the feather is a whitey cream and is "soft" and bendy. On this chicken all the feathers Rachis are light-dark brown, dryed out and brittle. It looks wrong...

Almost looks like a human toe nail you find under the bed a few days after it was cut off...everyones done it at some point in their life

Any ides?

Woka

 

[emvickrey]

pictures would help a great deal

 

[Wokawidget]

Yea, I agree

It was already dark when I sat down to make the post. I'll get some photos tomorrow.

Woka

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Could also be that the birds are ready to/starting to molt. Feathers usually look pretty ratty before a molt.

 

[threehorses]

Hens that have a long and strong laying period will often look very ragged as they don't go into molt. I'd think that could be the issue. Additionally, possibly a lot of exposure to sun if they're like my hen and free range all day.

But to be sure, you might want to check them at night once, and in the day once, for mites and lice. Use a flashlight (even in the light) to improve your light while looking carefully under all the feathers, along feather bases, at the back of the neck, under the wings extremely carefully, etc. Look for nearly microscopic round or long moving things, or even for the white clusters of eggs that lice will leave.

Mites stay mostly off of the birds, only going on to feed on some nights (not all nights) and laying eggs in the wood of the coop. If you're there caretaking at night, put your hand on the wood of the roosts - see if you get anything on you. Check the hens then, a few random ones, for mites.

If it's either, you'll want them to treat the birds with "permethrin" dust (not sevin, not DE). It's a gentle powder, usually comes already in a shaker can and market-targeted towards chickens. ("Poultry Dust", "Poultry and Garden Dust", Livestock Lice Dust, etc - read the active ingredients).

They'd dust the birds thoroughly, particularly under wings and at the vent, back of neck. You can spot spray Adams Flea and Tick Mist near the head and use cotton balls to apply it under their beards, etc.

Then dust under and in the bedding, nestboxes.

If it's mites, they'll do all of the above and then spray the wood of the coops (nestbox, walls up to 3', roost poles) with liquid permethrin, usually marketed as goat lice spray or horse fly prevention - just make sure it only contains Permethrin. That kills the emerging mites.

Repeat dusting every 7 days for 2 weeks after the first treatment.