Feather Loss: Americana's ONLY??? Can you help me, please??

[sbhkma]

Note that if you go that route (which I do, for the added protein) you will also need to offer free-choice calcium, made always readily available. I see that you DO have free-choice oyster shell, but I mention this so others who read this will realize it needs to be supplemented for laying hens. I use a bowl of crushed oyster shell and they even have a bowl of it in their favorite free-range hangout by my A/C and sage bushes.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Hello. I have a backyard coop with [10 hens] [and]..... 1 Americana rooster..... The past month I've noticed that my Americana's (hens & rooster) are missing feathers towards the base of their back (near the end of their wings & tip of the tail feathers) & on their necks......

There are one of two or else some combination of the two separate issues.

Issue one is that the ration that your hens and rooster eat is deficient in protein. Feather picking or eating is a sure sign of a diet deficient in protein. I recommend that you post a picture or else type in the ingredients in your chickens' feed along with the "Guaranteed" chemical analysis. This should be on a tag sewed into the top of the sack or bag that the feed comes in.

Issue two (and more likely) is that your birds are suffering from one of the poultry lice or mite species that affect chickens.

A so called saddle or hen sweater will only rub, damage, twist, break, and destroy any new blood or pin feathers as they try to regrow.

Feathers grow directly from skin follicles and any and all growing new feathers are plumed directly into your chickens blood system.

It is entirely possible to bleed a hen or rooster to death by damaging several of their primary feathers while new these new feathers are in the blood feather stage. If nature intended for hens to wear saddles she would have given them 4 hooves. Stop and think that if you had a horse and you kept it saddled for days and days at a time, that the anti-cruelty police would be pounding on your front door demanding that you come out with your hands up, a chicken is no different from a horse in this respect.

Anyway because your only rooster is also affected with this feather loss then your hens must be over breeding your rooster for the hen saddle idea to make sense.



I think that your feather damage looks something like the damage pictured below.


http://www.tailfeathersnetwork.com/birdinformation/bloodfeathers.php



This is just some of the damage that de-pluming mites cause. Forget looking for the little buggers, they are almost as tiny as scaly leg mites and like scaly leg mites de-pluming mites burrow into the living flesh of their hosts, mostly in and around the feather shafts or follicles, and thus de-pluming mites become totally invisible to the human eye. However your chickens know they are there, right below their skins. Depluming mites live their lives on your birds eating away at their bodies a little at a time, and sipping your chickens body fluids. Depluming mites also give birth to live young... again beneath the skin of your chickens. De-pluming mites unlike a cat or dog can not be house broken. They defecate beneath the skin of your poultry, that in my book is a foul way to treat your fowl.

Is it any wonder then that a chicken will go to almost any extreme (including self imposed indecent exposure) to rid themselves of this irritant?

Google images of blood feathers and de-pluming mites to learn more.

 

[hemmerleking]

The coop or enclosed area where they sleep at night & where there nesting boxes are, is an upcycled gazebo, so you can imagine the size of a gazebo. The attached "yard" is 10' 9" X 8'9". We also built an 8'X4' run, so they can get in the yard & get more variation in protein. After speaking with the owner of our feed store, he suggested we build a mobile run, so they can get more variety in their bugs & increase their protein intake. Currently, I am feeding them Nutrena Nature Wise Feather Fixer http://www.nutrenaworld.com/products/poultry/naturewise-poultry/feather-fixer/index.htm & Nutrena Nature Wise Layer Feed http://www.nutrenaworld.com/products/poultry/naturewise-poultry/naturewise-layer16/index.jsp, in 1:1 ratio.

 

[hemmerleking]

The top (2) are pictures of my Ameraucana hen & her back. The bottom (2) are pictures of my Ameraucana rooster & his back. I did break down & put Seven 5% dust in the coop & attached "yard". I have tried to use DE & do everything naturally, but I don't want them getting any worse. We inspected under their wings & vent & didn't see anything other than a little dirty material, that looked like poop. In the event that this was debris from mites, I spoke with the lady @ our feed store & she told me to put down Seven dust & that it helped her chickens. I asked her if I should put it on my chickens & she said "no", only in the coop! We also built an 8' X 4' run & separated the (3) Ameracuanas from the rest of the flock, during the day, so they could get a greater variety of bugs & rest from pecking to their bald spots. I also bought a 20% protein feed, for the entire flock. I did not put the saddles on, b/c if it's mights, I didn't want to add another dark place for them to hide. The lady at the feed store did say that she thought it might be due to protein loss b/c the chickens aren't rolling in the dirt & she said that if they have mights, they will be rolling in the sand/dirt?? I am also attaching pictures of my coop (inside after being cleaned, which we usually do every 1-1/2 weeks) & inside/outside after new hay has been put down & seven dust was spread. I am hoping this visuals will enable you to help us, as we are doing everything we know & have asked/read to do & are "sick" that our girls & boy look so sad!!! I also still don't understand why it's only my Ameraucanas, as I have 8 other hens that appear to be unaffected & are from different breeds??? Thank you ALL, again, for your help <3

 

[hemmerleking]

One more thing... I did put Blue Kote on them, the 1st day I started this thread, per another recommendation. That is why the hen & rooster have blue/purple on them, in the pictures. I only did (2) applications, as it didn't seem to keep the other hens away from them. I had a Barred Rock with a blue beak!!

 

[junebuggena]

That run is a bit small for the number of birds you have. Maybe a bit of overcrowding stress. How often do the get out? Dust bathing in dirt and sand help prevent mites and lice.

 

[hemmerleking]

We just build a mobile run & are putting 3-4 in it, per day, making it less crowded during the day. Otherwise, they were just in our coop/yard, daily. We have hawks & I am too fearful to let them free roam, as I have done everything to predator proof the coop & have even watched one of the hawks try to get in. So far, so good!! If they were to free range, however, I am afraid the hawks would try to get them. That's why we build a mobile, covered run to help with crowding.

 

[hemmerleking]

Here are new pictures of my hen. I have tried everything everyone has mentioned, in the previous posts!! Currently, I have her isolated & have given her Sulmet for the last 48 hrs. I am also spraying her skin with Vetericyn. I have treated the coop 2X with Seven Dust, over the past 2 weeks & this Saturday would have been my 3rd treatment, when I clean the coop. It's as if something is eating away her skin??? Can someone please help???!!! I have contaced two locall veterinarians & (1) believes it may be a contusion wound, from the others pecking at her. She did admit she does not specialize in fowl & the other is checking her college/academic books & also doesn't specialize in fowl; I can't seem to find someone that does. Our local, small feed store owner also has chickens & says he has never seen anything like this; he recommended the Sulmet & the 1st vet recommended the Vetericyn for the next 5 days. You can see that her vent doesn't have "eggs" around it & little debris, as I keep looking for mites or fleas. Please help, as I am worried we are going to lose her!! Thank you...