Dry, flaky face

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Note: this is a friend’s hen, not one of mine. I’m posting for him since he doesn’t have an account on here.

This hen has had a dry, crusty face that has been like this for a while. She’s also missing some feathers on her neck and head, but I don’t believe this is due to molting. Is this favus, scaly face mites, or something else? And how is it treated?

Also, I noticed that her nares were blocked when I was taking these pictures. I think this is due to a known respiratory issue (most likely viral) in my friend’s flock. The gunk in her nares is very hard, so I was wondering what the best way to clean it out would be. This hen doesn’t struggle to breath, but she does sneeze more than usual due to the blocked nares.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I see a hen going through a neck molt. It doesn't hurt to treat for external parasites if there's a concern. Otherwise the hen looks in good condition. Feathers are shiny, eyes bright.

What are they feeding? Perhaps trying a different ration may help.

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

Check the bird and the coop for mites/lices, but I think it's most likely a molt. I had a hen molt like that once from the head to the neck to the chest to the body to the butt...

To unplug nares I usually spray them with a saline solution to loosen them up a bit and carefully try to wipe/pick out the blockage. You obviously want to be careful not stick anything up her nose so I mostly try to soften the blockage enough that she can sneeze it out. A plain saline nose spray from the pharmacy is useful to get the hen sneezing.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Update: the flock was treated for ivermectin (since a few of the hens had scaly leg mites) and the hen doesn’t really have a flaky face anymore. However, we haven’t had any luck with unplugging her nares.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Update: the flock was treated for ivermectin (since a few of the hens had scaly leg mites) and the hen doesn’t really have a flaky face anymore. However, we haven’t had any luck with unplugging her nares.

Have you tried Peroxide for the nares?

Put 1 (one) drop of Peroxide on the crusty material in the nare, let it soak in for a few minutes. Use a orange stick (cuticle stick) or plastic dental pick and start working bits of it off. It will take time and you may need to do this over the course of several days. 1 drop Peroxide, work on loosening it, repeat.