Help ! crazy skin\feather loss on my silkie hen

[fluffygirls85]

A few weeks ago i noticed what seemed to be mites or lice clusters on her head so I dustedher with DE. She eats Nutrena feather fixer as well. Well last week during our cold snap i noticed her feathers looked wet but weren't, they also had like a yeasty smell to them. So today it was in the eighties so I decided to give her a bath and take a better look. I totally started freaking out when her feathers just started falling out and her skin fealt like a hard growth and is the color and looks like a yellow sponge. Help I have no idea whats going on with her !

 

[seminolewind]

DE will not kill lice or mites. You need some poultry powder or Sevin powder. She could have a major infestation going on there, and I would also keep my eye out for infection. Is this area oozing?

 

[Eggcessive]

That looks like some sort of cyst, tumor, or abscess. Abscesses are usually puffy, not hard. Did she have a Mareks vaccine? I would have her checked out at the vet's.

 

[fluffygirls85]

Definitely firm tissue on top of her head and under each eye. Im almost positive shes had her mereks before i bought her a few months ago. Well darn I was told DE would do the trick I'll get another product tomorrow. No oozing.

 

[fluffygirls85]

Totally freaked out that its mareks. I messaged the breeder she came from to confirm her vaccine, but no reply. Poultry savvy vets aren't that common I hope my search for one on Monday will be successful.

 

[Eggcessive]

I'm embarrassed to say that when I first saw this, I thought it was her head, then looked again, and thought it was her tail area. Is that just a hard scab on her head? My polish hen had her feathers all pulled out and her head pecked by a young rooster, and it looked like that picture after 3 days. It was runny and bloody, and later became a leathery hard scab. After applying neosporin for 2 days, then BluKote, 3 weeks later feathers grew back in after the scab fell off. That may not be her problem, but just a suggestion. Maybe she scratched her own head and under her eyes? And I forgot to say Welcome to BYC.

 

[seminolewind]

Don't be embarrassed. I thought the same thing.

 

[SilkiesnFrizzle]

What did the mite/lice clusters look like? Have you ever seen stick tight fleas before? In Florida, they are fairly common, and I have had a couple Silkies with similar symptoms as you have listed, but they had stick tight fleas.

 

[fluffygirls85]

Can't sleep thinking about this hen. I don't think its stick tight fleas, after researching images it doesn't appear that way. As a dog groomer I'm pretty good spotting those little jerks. The clusters were at the base around each head feather so I could see where a serious head scab could come into play. Funny how the only other area affected was her bum. So whats a good plan of attack? Neosporin her head, seven dust the entire area. Should I seven dust or frontline spray her? Im hoping for a better picture close up for you guys totomorrow. Thanks so much for all your help and the welcoming!

 

[SilkiesnFrizzle]

I would use either Vaseline or neosporin for the affected area and I would definitely use Frontline...either the spray or spot treatment. You can put a drop at the base of the neck (or at the bottom of her crest) under each wing, and a drop on her back ( about where the tail and back meet) Mites/lice/fleas have been HORRID this last year in Florida. I would also dust the area with Sevin or a permythryin based powder as well.