Dry flaky skin

[NatureGirl74]

My 1 1/2 year old black sex link has really dry skin. It's almost like leather. It's on her stomach. The skin is yellow and flaking/peeling off. She is currently molting. Not sure when she last laid an egg. Is the dry skin from the cold weather? I was looking at other threads and I'm worried about mareks. Some hens appear to have slightly oval pupils, but it's hard to tell. One has an extra black dot in the eye, but it looks more like a genetic thing. My roo seems to have trouble breathing sometimes. He breathes really loudly. It's been over a year since I've added any new birds. The only new bird I added was one that I hatched from our own eggs. I plan on getting pics tomorrow. Any ideas on what is going on?

 

[Kiki]

Can you get clear pictures of the yellow chested dry skin bird's chest and clear pictures of the pupils of a couple of your birds?

 

[NatureGirl74]

This is the hen with the dry skin. A lot of the peeling skin has come off since yesterday.

This is the hen with the extra dot. Her eye was dilated though and it's hard to see it

This is another hen. I'm pretty sure her eye is fine. Her crop is empty every morning, but I don't think she eats as much as she should because her crop feels like it's full of water at night.

This hen has neurological problems, but she's been like that since she hatched. She required an assisted hatch after being shrink wrapped inside the egg. She's still a happy chicken though.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

@azygous
@Wyorp Rock
@Eggcessive

I'm sorry I'm unable to offer anything to help you. I tagged some of my favorite ladies here that are extremely knowledgeable and helpful. I'm sure they'll have more information regarding Mareks and/or anything else you might want to ask.
What does the one hen do that makes you feel like she has neurological issues? Please know that I'm not questioning you on the information you've provided, but some of these things might be helpful to whatever is going on with your flock. Did the hen with the pupil abnormality ever have any injury? Is she able to see with that eye?
I wish you the best with your flock

 

[HeatherKellyB]

One other question about the hen you said doesn't eat enough...
Does she feel underweight?


How is the flock acting in general?

 

[azygous]

I believe what you are seeing in your flock, all the indications of dry flaky skin, all can be attributed to molt.

During molt, hormones drastically decrease. This can cause dry, poorly toned skin. I see in one photo what could be a mild skin fungus. It can't hurt to get a tube of athlete's foot medication and smooth it into the flaky skin once a day for several days to see if it improves the condition.

It's my opinion your worries of Marek's are unfounded. The eyes appear to be normal and the skin issues in no way indicate Marek's skin lesions.

 

[NatureGirl74]

@azygous
@Wyorp Rock
@Eggcessive

I'm sorry I'm unable to offer anything to help you. I tagged some of my favorite ladies here that are extremely knowledgeable and helpful. I'm sure they'll have more information regarding Mareks and/or anything else you might want to ask.
What does the one hen do that makes you feel like she has neurological issues? Please know that I'm not questioning you on the information you've provided, but some of these things might be helpful to whatever is going on with your flock. Did the hen with the pupil abnormality ever have any injury? Is she able to see with that eye?
I wish you the best with your flock

The hen with the extra dot can see. To my knowledge she hasn't been injured. About the other hen with neurological issues. I had 30 eggs and all of them were alive and developing. On day 19 the incubator malfunctioned and cooked all, but 4 eggs. 3 are cockerels. This was the only pullet. She hatched from a little egg and was shrink wrapped inside. She had curled toes and it took 3 days to heal. She didn't want to eat so I hand fed her mash for several days until she started eating on her own. She was always interested in water tho. She's ways been half the size of the others. When she was a few weeks old she was finally strong enough to move in with the other chicks. Several weeks later I moved her outside and she appeared to have a seizure. She was laying on the ground limp with her eyes closed and her head was shaking. She laid their for a while then snapped out of it and was running around again by the evening. She had trouble though with roosting. After the had curled toes she wasn't able to bend her toes, but at least she could walk. You can tell that her depth perception is off. Sometimes she tries to peck at things and misses. Her depth perception has gotten a little better and she seems to be gaining a little more control of her toes. She's been roosting at night with the other chickens.

One other question about the hen you said doesn't eat enough...
Does she feel underweight?


How is the flock acting in general?

Her crop just doesn't feel like it's got food in it. It feels like it's full of water. I don't think it's sour crop tho because it always empties. I don't think she feels underweight. I'm not great at it, but to me she feels either normal or slightly overweight. The flock has been sitting around puffed up a bit more, but it's been cold so I think they're trying to stay warm. I let them free range yesterday and they perked up.

I believe what you are seeing in your flock, all the indications of dry flaky skin, all can be attributed to molt.

During molt, hormones drastically decrease. This can cause dry, poorly toned skin. I see in one photo what could be a mild skin fungus. It can't hurt to get a tube of athlete's foot medication and smooth it into the flaky skin once a day for several days to see if it improves the condition.

It's my opinion your worries of Marek's are unfounded. The eyes appear to be normal and the skin issues in no way indicate Marek's skin lesions.

I wondered if it was the molt. Would triple antibiotic cream work instead? I have a lot of that. I thought I was overreacting a bit too.

Sorry for such a long post

 

[azygous]

I wondered if it was the molt. Would triple antibiotic cream work instead? I have a lot of that. I thought I was overreacting a bit too.

If it's a fungus, no, triple antibiotic ointment won't help. If it's dry skin with bacterial inflammation, then yes, it would help.

As with many suggestions offered here, they are just that - suggestions. Try the ones you feel have relevance and see how it affects the issue that concerns you. But be sure to update whether they work or not, because every single thread here is a learning tool for others.

 

[NatureGirl74]

@azygous
I hope I'm not bugging you, but I have one more question. Do you have any idea why my roo sounds raspy. It sounds kind of whistle-like too. At first I though it was a respiratory infection, but it's been going on for about a year and hasn't changed at all. It's not just after he crows. It's most of the time. He tends to have his mouth open a little when breathing and he whistles. It sounds kind of like when you get phlegm. I can't see anything in his throat or mouth. I've massaged his throat just in case. His eyes are clear and bright. His ears aren't swollen. He's very active. He hatched a year ago in August. If you don't know that's fine, I'll just keep watching him. Thanks for helping with the original bird!

 

[azygous]

Roosters and all birds have a syrinx in their throat. It's somewhat like our voice box, but while ours makes noise by vibrating, the syrinx makes noise as air moves past it. Sometimes the syrinx changes its position just a bit, and it will produce extended "whistling". I have a rooster that does this sometimes. It sounds like he's wheezing, but he's perfectly fine. Your rooster is okay. If he wasn't he wouldn't be behaving normally.