Fluff coming off their butts

[gkeesling]

My 12 Barr Rocks are just now 1 year old. There are 3 of them who have lost the fluffy feathers off of their butts. It's more than just around their vents. It looks like they are mooning me when they bend over. There rear ends are red. Can any one tell me what has happend to their fluffy butt feathers, and if this is a bad thing or not?

 

[BarkerChickens]

Just around their butts? Are you sure they aren't molting? Another option is feather picking, but that is an odd area for that. Have you looked for mites? They like to hang our the vent area (you can check 'em with a flashlight at night when they are on their roosts).

 

[gkeesling]

Yes, only around their butts. I thought, at first they might be molting, but they didn't lose any feathers anywhere else. Plus, it's only three of them and all 12 are the same age. I haven't checked for mites, but I will do that. It just seemed odd that, if it was mites that it would only affect three of them. Never heard anything like this before. I Just wondered if any one else had experienced this.

 

[purpletree23]

Check their butts carefully. Are they dirty? Does it look like someone sprinkled pepper on them? If so you have mites. Treat all of your chickens with poultry lice and mite powder and treat the coop. Remove the bedding from the laying boxes, sprinkle with the dust and add fresh bedding. Make sure you dust the entire chicken except for the face. I usually start at the top of the neck and work my way towards the tail and the feet. If the mites 'run' you don't want them taking refuge on the face. I work the dust in with my fingers and make sure it goes sown to the skin. The mites live at the base of the feathers.

Re-treat the chickens in 10 days to get the mites that may have hatched. The dust only kills the adults not the eggs.

 

[Msbear]

Quote:
What a great point!

 

[gkeesling]

thank you for your feedback. I ordered some stuff to kill the mites today. I should get it by about mid week and be able to apply it this weekend.

 

[LovinMyHensInNC!]

I have four Black Australorps that are all the same exact age and they seem to take their turn molting. One started molting about four weeks ago and two started a week ago and the fourth is hardly showing signs of molting. One of them has a bare bottom like yours but I can see the new feathers starting to grow in. She also doesn't show signs of molting anywhere else.... just her bottom fluff which is now all over the floor of their coop.

 

[chookchick]

One of mine is doing that--didn't look like she was molting, but when I picked her up and gave her a once over, it was clear that she was losing feathers all over (I could feel it), no mites. Hope they start coming back before the cold hits hard!

 

[jerseygirl1]

My RIR - same thing, bare-butts and no lice, still has her feathers everywhere else. Just figured it was molting...