Frizzle bantam frizzled ??

[southdakota]

Does anyone have any idea what might be wrong with this poor little chick?

None of the other chicks have any problems.
This chick's feathers pull out if I pick it up wrong. It is about five months old.
It seems to have lost most of the feathers around it's head.
It has bald spots on it's neck
and it's breastbone is bald and red
It is very thin and seems to have quit growing.
I feed it a chick grower
I have not wormed it
and I checked for lice and see nothing crawling on it.
Any suggestions? I would hate for it to die if I can treat whatever ails it.
I have wazine and a coccidistat on hand if anyone thinks I should treat it
It is a frizzle bantam.
I also have DE

Thank you for any help

 

[southdakota]

Anyone? This is a nice little bird. I called my local vets but they don't treat chickens. It is 60 miles to the next town with a vet. I don't want to just start treating her for things she might or might not have. I thought about giving her ivomec in case it is mites or lice. I suppose it cannot hurt her and if she has any parasites it will take care of them.
I was just hoping someone might have an idea what is going wrong with her. or him..I am not sure of the sex of this little frizzle.

 

[charsbird]

\Looks like she's molting, new feather shafts are coming in on the neck. It hurts them and they don't like to be touched, so she could act strange. Ivomec couldn't hurt. She's adorable. There's lots of good advice on here if you search molting. Sometimes it's such a heavy molt that they can get worn down, and need some extra nurishment.

 

[southdakota]

\Looks like she's molting, new feather shafts are coming in on the neck. It hurts them and they don't like to be touched, so she could act strange. Ivomec couldn't hurt. She's adorable. There's lots of good advice on here if you search molting. Sometimes it's such a heavy molt that they can get worn down, and need some extra nurishment.

Thank you...it never occurred to me that a bird this young might be molting. I think perhaps I will separate her from the rest of the flock so I can make sure she gets to eat and feed her some extra supplements. She is always hiding under the nest boxes so perhaps she is a bit timid or the others might be picking on her. I have those metal dog cages so I can put her in one to keep her safe and give her extra care. THanks so much. She was from Ideal's bantam .99 special. I was very happy with all the little bantams I got. She was very very pretty till she started getting male pattern baldness.

 

[CMV]

I think she is at the right age to replace her juvie feathers for her full adult feathers. I have never seen a molt so obvious in such a young bird, but I think that is because most chickens' feathers are covered by overlapping whereas frizzles' are not. Either way, the feathers are obviously replacing themselves as evidenced by all the visible blood feathers coming in.

There is no point in treating for bugs unless you do the whole shebang- treat all birds, gut the coop and treat it, wait 10 days and do it all over again. The problem with doing these types of things halfway is that you breed stronger bugs that are harder to kill.

Good luck.

 

[southdakota]

I think she is at the right age to replace her juvie feathers for her full adult feathers. I have never seen a molt so obvious in such a young bird, but I think that is because most chickens' feathers are covered by overlapping whereas frizzles' are not. Either way, the feathers are obviously replacing themselves as evidenced by all the visible blood feathers coming in.

There is no point in treating for bugs unless you do the whole shebang- treat all birds, gut the coop and treat it, wait 10 days and do it all over again. The problem with doing these types of things halfway is that you breed stronger bugs that are harder to kill.

Good luck.

Thank you so much. Yes, you are 100 percent right about treating for bugs. This is a brand new coop, just built last fall. I had rubber horse stall mats put on the floor to make cleaning much easier. The spring clean is scheduled for as soon as my hired boy has time. He will strip the bedding out of the coop down to the mats, we will sanitize and treat for bugs, clean and spray all the nest boxes, wall and ceilings and of course sanitize all the feeders and waterers. I then dust the outside pens and put new sand in there. I also paint all the roost bars with a mixture of malathion and diesel fuel and keep the birds in the outside run for 24 hours. ( The malathion 10 percent diesel fuel perch paint was recommended by a well respected poultry judge).
What would you suggest treating the coop with? I have always stripped my coop each spring and fall and have never had much of a problem with parasites. I find keeping the coop clean and stripping/deep cleaning twice a year really helps. I want my birds to have a nice environment, and if I don't want to walk in a coop because of the smell (like some of my neighbors coops), why would I want my birds living in that. I fluff the bedding with a fork every other day..
I plan to worm all the birds right before the deep clean with ivomec.

 

[barahbarat]

Exerpt taken from: Chicken Genes of Common Interest-
"Incompletely dominant. The action of the frizzle gene is localized in the feather follicle. It causes a structure abnormality in the feather and abnormalities of internal organs (enlarged heart, spleen, gizzard and alimentary canal) are common." A chicken with wings that cannot function at all.
Had I known this I would not have bought my poor lil Frizzle, He is so sad & pathetic it breaks my heart. This is a breed that no matter how cute SOME are - they cannot have a pleasant life. He can't fly even to get up on the 2 ft roost, so roosts on the ground beneath the rest of the flock in order to be close- which puts him in the line of fire from chicken plops from the others. He has big bald spots I can find no cure for. I sold the ones that were abusing him, but they didnt cause the baldness under his wings. I wholeheartedly wish that this bird no longer be bred at all, It is horribly cruel to subject any life to endure the way they live. Its like deliberately breeding a dog with 2 legs.

 

[milola]

I agree 100%