Feather Loss: non-moulting

[Dave_R]

Hey All,

I noticed that one of my chickens had lost feathers along her neck and breast. I thought this might be moulting, but 4 weeks later it doesn't look like they've come back much. About 2 weeks later I noticed that another chicken has thinning feathers along her butt (below her vent). Our 3rd (and last) chicken looks entirely healthy. I took a look at the animals today and didn't notice any insects on them (I'm wondering about fleas, lice or mites). The chickens seem OK generally, but I'm worried I'm missing something.

Thoughts?

1) What type of bird , age and weight -- Buff Orp, Black Australorp, 1 yrs, unsure on weight
2) What is the behavior, exactly. Loosing Feathers
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms? 4+ weeks
4) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma. No.
5) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation. Unknown
6) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all. Organic pellets, water.
7) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc. Seems OK.
8) What has been the treatment you have administered so far? None.
9 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet? Self treatment.
10) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
11) Describe the housing/bedding in use: Coop and Run. Pine shaving bedding, run has a dirt floor. They're confined to the run/coop, which is 50+sq ft

Thanks!

D.

 

[dawg53]

you need to closely inspect your chickens for lice and mites. you can see feather lice as well as mites. feather lice are white in color and you can see them moving around in feathers. other types of lice and mites can stick to the base of feathers and lay eggs.there are red and brown type mites.there are sticky fleas also...all visible.sevin dust will take care of most of these parasites. there 's a dog spray for the sticky fleas that will kill them,but i cant remember the name. also,sometimes a hen that is getting ready to go broody will pull feathers out of her breast and put them in her nest. a rooster will pull neck feathers while mounting a hen. chickens usually start to molt around one year old,could be a mini molt and not a full blown molt if they're about a year old or thereabouts. stress issues could possibly make them molt...not enough room in their house/coop. some vitamin/mineral lacking in their feed, are they eating feathers? if they are,i recommend increasing their protein intake. give them plain yogurt,canned beef catfood,scrambled egg mixed with their feed to make a mash. there's alot of protein in the canned cat food and egg.the yogurt is a probiotic to build up their good bacteria and immunity in their system.

 

[JasonJC]

Quote:
Ahh! perhaps that is what I needed to hear! thanks!

 

[savingdogs]

I'm very interested in this post because I have similar issues and I don't think it is parasites because I sure can't see anything.
I have almost the same answers to those questions as Dave R except I feed Layena supplemented with a bit of sunflower seeds and plants from our yard. I also have more birds, with a few looking great, a few missing feathers where the Roo mounts them and several, about half, with feathers missing around their vents.

I have a very "active" roo....I don't know how much of this he is causing. They already finished molting.

So I'm very interested in what everyone has to say to Dave R.

 

[Sugar Sand Farm]

savingdogs Your problem is probably the rooster ALot of the time rooster will cause balding on the hens from their spurs. You could try chicken saddles or do a search and trim tahe roosters spurs.Be careful if it is from your rooster they can also shred the hens backs.

 

[savingdogs]

Thanks! Our roo does seem very active in doing his job. And he is a horrible male chauvanist about it and is a terrible example for our teenage sons!

 

[Sugar Sand Farm]

I know my daughter has a roo that is so horny he even attempted to do a hen that had died in her coop. She had to sew the chicken saddles so he couldnt hurt any of her hens they do work you might want to give them a try.

 

[savingdogs]

I think perhaps I need to!

A dead hen, really?