Feather loss on head and neck and dying hens

[chacha]

Hi Dawn, They eat Nutrena Layer Crumble, 16% crude protein, any green stuff, grapes and blueberries I can bring home from the resort I work at, and some cracked corn and commercial grit since they aren't outside much this winter. Too much snow! I made them a dust bath today with diatomaceous earth and some very dry peat moss and dusted them all. No one else has died and the dust bath really gave them something to talk about. Watched them for about an hour to see if there was any pecking going on and didn't see any. I have 3 or 4 hens who don't seem to be affected yet. One is an Americauna that is broody and spends most of her time in a nest box, one Rhody and two other Americaunas. All are still laying and seem normal. Eyes clear, no sneezing or coughing. Checked again for lice and mites. I am giving duramycin, but don't know how long I should give it. I though maybe 5 days unless someone knows otherwise?? I Change the water and scrub pail every day and add fresh duramycin. Hoping I don't lose another one of my girls...

Thanks for the interest,

Claire,

One Brittany, two cats, 13 chickens now, 1 rabbit named Elmer who was confined with a hen all winter and did not understand the species barrier to mating, and we are hurting from the loss of my 9-year-old English Cocker who was taken by a coyote or cougar a month ago.

 

[chacha]

Dawn, Forgot to say that our coop is complete lined, walls, ceiling, and 7 of next boxes with old cedar fencing. Doesn't cedar keep parasites away? I know it does fleas. Does anybody have any thoughts on that?

 

[Miss Lydia]

From all I have read cedar is not good to use around chickens, the oils are not healthy to breathe in. Hopefully someone can tell you more about it.

 

[Judy]

Using cedar gets debated on here; some say they've used it for years one way or another, others that they have seen it do harm. I believe it may also depend on the type of cedar. "Old cedar fencing" doesn't sound that bad to me, but you might want to do some research of your own, especially if it smells like cedar in your coop.

I was interested in feed because often feather loss like this is from feather picking, which in turn can be related to reduced protein intake. Sometimes I've seen where people were giving lots of treats with the best of intentions, but were actually reducing the total protein intake. Layena and 16% protein are fine, but you wouldn't want to reduce that protein by much. The other usual factor, besides mites/lice, seems to be crowding or their feeling "cooped up," as in the kind of weather you've been having.

All that is only in reference to the feather loss, of course. I really have nothing to offer about the deaths. Perhaps there are two different issues, and they simply died of natural causes. Sorry for that loss, anyway.

I suppose you could be dealing with a combination of factors. Perhaps you've gotten enough ideas now to work this out. I hope so!

Good luck.

 

[FrankLG]

I know this is a very old thread, but it is related to our case I think. Two days ago we lost one of our hens, we found her dead in the run area. No predator or any such concern. She died of something. We all said, yeah we noticed her neck feathers were kind of getting thin and that they lowed to dust bathe. So if parasites is the cause, will the Duramycin help? Any other suggestions. The rest of the girls appear to be healthy and laying eggs, except the one who is broody and sitting in the nest day and night. I am still concerned about the rest of the hens. What can we do to ensure the rest are protected from the parasites, Duramycin, something else?