Feather loss on 4 birds, still laying, otherwise healthy

[jmcjmc]

I started a new thread because my old one wasn't really about this issue. I'm stumped. Maybe I just have a misunderstanding about one of these concepts, but I can't seem to figure out what (if anything) is wrong. I'm totally aware the answer might be "nothing."

I have 4 hens (EE, Black Star, RIR, Australorp). About 6 months ago the EE and BS had a lice problem and stopped laying. The BS lost feathers around her vent and on the back of her neck at the time. Those haven't really grown back. Treated all the birds with a "natural" pest control and the bugs went away and the hens started laying, until we noticed lice again about a month ago (same 2 birds only). At that point I dusted all the birds. Second dusting a week later. No sign of bugs now.

In the meantime, we went on vacation for a week and the neighbor picked up our eggs. They had plenty of water and should've had food at all times. When I got back the Australorp had a huge bald spot on her back above her tail feathers. About 2"x2". Over the next couple days I noticed the birds looked less feathered, I was seeing a lot more "fluff" on them. I saw the RIR peck a feather off the BS's back. I saw the BS eat one feather off the ground. To this day that's the only unusual behavior I've seen. But now the feather situation is even worse. The BS and Australorp are basically 100% fluff at this point. They look pretty silly. The EE and RIR are still mostly feathered, but pretty fluffy on their backs and butts. I thought maybe the RIR was eating feathers at first, but it doesn't seem like she could do all this damage herself, and I wouldn't expect her back to be looking fluffy.

They're all energetic. They otherwise look happy and healthy, all behavior is normal. Solid red combs. All hens laying 5+ tasty eggs/week. No rooster. So I'm thinking:

1. Molting? The easiest answer. But the days are very long, and they're all still producing tons of eggs.
2. Possible they had a food issue while I was on vacation that led to feather eating, but they've had steady food FOR SURE for the last 2 weeks, with lots of mealworms in case protein was an issue, so why would the feather loss be getting rapidly worse? And I'd expect a drop in production if it were malnourishment.
3. Eating feathers because the 16% protein feed I use still isn't enough? I live in the suburbs and haven't been able to track down anything higher, except for grower mash, and I don't think they'll eat mash. Again, I'd expect a drop in production, and this is the same feed they've had for well over 6 months.
4. Pecking from boredom/cramped space? I don't know if that can get serious enough to take two birds down to fluff? The birds are almost always in a big pen that's about 12'x12'. Should be plenty of room.

Happy to hear any thoughts or advice anyone has. It seems like with most problems egg production is the first thing to go. It almost seems like if they're laying eggs, they're probably fine. I'm just trying to figure out if there's a problem here I should be addressing.

 

[featheredplanets]

imo it could be 3 or 4, if the feathers weren’t growing back origionally, they needed a protein boost. I’d try switching them to a higher protein feed for now or give them high protein treats, eggs, cat food, feeder insects (mealworms are more fat that protein, id try silkworms and BSFL) protein will just affect the quality of the egg, not quantity, i believe.
all birds should be treated for lice if one has them, id use something stronger like permethrin.
its not just run space that matters, but coop space too. they could be stressed over anything, overcrowding, predators, changes in the environment.

 

[rebrascora]

Some photos might help us, but my guess would be depluming mites. They are microscopic so you wouldn't be able to see them and they need to be treated systemically.... I believe ivermectin is the best option. The feathers will usually look frayed when this is the problem. Natural products will help prevent an infestation becoming serious (more preventative than curative) but usually once you have a problem, you need to hit it hard to fix it. Do your hens have access to a dust bathing area? Did you treat the coop as well as the hens for lice and retreat all a week-10 days later? Which product did you use? Do you see them excessively preening or dust bathing? Roosting time is a good time to observe preening behaviour.

 

[jmcjmc]

Alright I took some pictures. Every time I come to this site I learn something new, never heard of depluming mites before. As for "coop" space, it's not really an issue. They have a place where they can go indoors, but they always stay outside. Never seen one of them actually go in. Their nesting box is separate for that little building.

The fluffy BS:

The EE, you can see she's mostly losing feathers above her tail.

The Australorp has lost all feathers above her tail and is looking fluffy on her chest too.

I picked up a few feathers off the ground and took pictures just in case there's anything telling there. The feathers themselves look chewed or torn, but the quills all look pointy and intact.

 

[jmcjmc]

I finally got one to sit still long enough to see the skin under the father loss area. Also giving them a mealworm/cricket supplement as of now that's 53% crude protein.

 

[jmcjmc]

Losing my mind. This is now all 4 birds. So I don't have just one pecking feathers. Lots of high protein treats given over the past month. All missing feathers above the tail and up their back, and below the vent. All still laying regularly. All skin where feathers have been lost is bright red and inflamed. No pin feathers coming in. Applications of Veterycin haven't helped the redness.

 

[rebrascora]

Have you treated them with Ivermectin for depluming mites? The mites are microscopic, so you won't see them but you should see the hens preening a lot and the photos of feathers you posted look like they have been damaged by over preening. The mites will make them itchy and the hens will preen the itchy spots. If they are not doing this to each other, I would say that they are doing it to themselves.
If you need to catch them or examine them or treat them, go after dark with a head torch and pick them off the roost bars.
I would be wary of giving too much protein as that can also cause health issues, so do go careful with such a protein rich supplement.

 

[jmcjmc]

Have you treated them with Ivermectin for depluming mites?

Thanks for replying. I didn't do it, only because I'm hesitant to use serious chemicals unless totally necessary. I went to 4 local shops that seem to know chickens pretty well. They've always been able to answer my questions before. When I mentioned depluming mites they looked at me like I was nuts, which made me think maybe they just aren't a problem around here? And they seemed to think any mites could just be treated with permethrin.

But I guess short of a costly aviary vet, that's my only option at this point. Any recommendations on where to buy it? Does that come from a pet store or from a vet? Does it just go in their water? Thanks.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I see that kind of damage when there is a lot of dominance mounting.

 

[emmyn74]

If this is caused by feather eating then that's pretty much impossible to stop. U can Feed them protein until that is all they r eating but they will still eat feathers...if one of mine starts this..I immediately get rid of it because they won't stop..and It is a learned habit...if you have one doing it...the others will probably eventually start...this is also the reason why you aren't seeing any new growth of feathers...bc they r eating them off each other as soon as they see them...if they keep doing this it will get to the point where the feathers will not grow back and they will permanently look like this.