fine sandpaper eggs and loss of feathers

[AZgirl54]

I have a chicken that had a bald spot high on her chest. I isolated her and dusted her with DE. She continued to lose feathers, now around her neck and some loss on her belly. Redusted her with DE. She does not like being alone, seems to miss her buddies and is stressed just by being in isolation. I have dusted her egg box, put sand and DE so she can dust herself, but I do not see any improvements. She and all my adult chickens also have a cough, sneeze, I have never had this issue before. We were having a problem with a massive amount of pigeons in our yard. I normally let the girls free range during the day. All the other chickens are alert, active, eating and drinking well despite the sneeze. This one in isolation is eating and drinking well and laying normally, except with eggshells that feel like fine sandpaper. Also before I noticed the bald spot on her, I found an shell-less egg. Any suggestions as what might be the issue and are her sandpaper eggs safe to eat?

 

[hayley3]

Are you feeding oyster shell for extra calcium? I feed mine non-cooked eggshells for calcium. The shell-less egg is a deficiency in calcium.
What are you feeding?
There are a number of reasons for feather loss that can include dietary deficiencies, molting, feather picking, pests and parasites.
Have you seen any lice>
The cough and sneezing doesn't sound good.
@Eggcessive @Wyorp Rock

 

[AZgirl54]

Thanks. I have not seen any lice or mites, just feather loss. I feed layer pellet, some corn scratch, fresh greens, and have recently been grinding my eggshells in the blender and giving that to her. I also added cider vinegar to her water and garlic and sunflower seeds to her feed. I have two juvenile girls and unfortunately this girl got into their feed before. I attributed the shell -less egg to her eating their lower calcium feed. I have found a way to prevent that from happening. I am hoping the sneezing is a viral respiration infection that will pass.

 

[hayley3]

Since they are all sneezing, I would be concerned. Have some antibiotic on hand.

 

[AZgirl54]

Are all the chickens sneezing?

Well I have 4 adults and 2 juveniles. All 4 adults plus the one in isolation are sneezing.

 

[Eggcessive]

Calcium deposits can be found on some eggs. There is a virus called infectious bronchitis that can cause sneezing and congestion. It can affect the reproductive system, and affect eggs, causing thin or wrinkled egg shells, among other shell problems. Here are some links to read:
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/infectious-bronchitis/infectious-bronchitis-in-poultry

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/common-egg-quality-problems.65923/

 

[Wyorp Rock]

had a bald spot high on her chest. I isolated her and dusted her with DE. She continued to lose feathers, now around her neck and some loss on her belly. Redusted her with DE. She does not like being alone, seems to miss her buddies and is stressed just by being in isolation. I have dusted her egg box, put sand and DE so she can dust herself, but I do not see any improvements. She and all my adult chickens also have a cough, sneeze,

All the other chickens are alert, active, eating and drinking well despite the sneeze. This one in isolation is eating and drinking well and laying normally, except with eggshells that feel like fine sandpaper. Also before I noticed the bald spot on her, I found an shell-less egg.

I have not seen any lice or mites, just feather loss.

Well I have 4 adults and 2 juveniles. All 4 adults plus the one in isolation are sneezing.

Can you post some photos of her?
How old is she?
She continues with feather loss even though she is by herself?
DE will not treat lice/mites. Look her over to see if you find any bugs on her.
She's stressed by being isolated/separated - stress and disturbances can cause production and egg quality problems. A sandpaper feel can be from stress, shell gland, defect, too much calcium, parasites, etc.
You grind up the shells and add them to her feed? Just crush them and toss them out, they will take what they want. Getting into youngsters feed shouldn't really affect laying - I don't feed layer feed at all, just supply oyster shell free choice and my egg shells are very hard.

The sneezing. When did that start? Was it before you used DE or after?

 

[AZgirl54]

Can you post some photos of her?
How old is she?
She continues with feather loss even though she is by herself?
DE will not treat lice/mites. Look her over to see if you find any bugs on her.
She's stressed by being isolated/separated - stress and disturbances can cause production and egg quality problems. A sandpaper feel can be from stress, shell gland, defect, too much calcium, parasites, etc.
You grind up the shells and add them to her feed? Just crush them and toss them out, they will take what they want. Getting into youngsters feed shouldn't really affect laying - I don't feed layer feed at all, just supply oyster shell free choice and my egg shells are very hard.

The sneezing. When did that start? Was it before you used DE or after?

I have come to the conclusion that my chicken has IB- a type of corona virus. How ironic. She also had, hopefully it is a past tense - a mite infection. Her shells are thin, pale, rough, and watery albumin. She is sneezing. I did gather her egg from a straw nest and that evening I had three bites on my arm. I did remove all the straw and husband made an egg box for her. My other chickens are still sneezing but less. Question is how long do I continue to isolate this girl?

 

[AZgirl54]

Calcium deposits can be found on some eggs. There is a virus called infectious bronchitis that can cause sneezing and congestion. It can affect the reproductive system, and affect eggs, causing thin or wrinkled egg shells, among other shell problems. Here are some links to read:
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/infectious-bronchitis/infectious-bronchitis-in-poultry

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/common-egg-quality-problems.65923/

I believe that she does have IB with a concurrent mite infection, which I hope is not over. Thank you.

 

[AZgirl54]

I believe that she does have IB with or had a concurrent mite infection. thank you! IB is a type of corona virus. How ironic!