Help: Loss of feathers: don't see any mites

JamdownChick

In the Brooder
Sep 7, 2020
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I am a newbie chicken lover with a small coop and 4 hens. I have one Golden Comet hen and three Bard Rocks.They are 9 months old. The Golden Comet has laid only twice. Last week I noticed she had lost all the feathers on her underside. She is not losing them anywhere else. I have looked carefully for mites. I see nothing. Perhaps I don't recognize them? None of the other three have any loss of feathers. Can anyone help me identify what might be going on?
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hmm.... Looks like a dog or something grabbed her and ripped out her feathers. Otherwise it could be her pulling them out of stress. Another possible cause would be other hens picking at her, they could have been attracted to her butt because she might have had poop clinging to her feathers.
 
Hey! If you're not sure how to look for mites properly, I'd recommend this:

Take a headlamp into their roost at night and take a bird down. You'll want to inspect her vent area. If you have mites, they'll almost certainly be there. Spend time just staring at the spot to see if you see anything at all moving on the skin.

The headlamp is a game changer, since you're not trying to shine a light with one hand and hold the chicken with another. If you don't see any mites, congrats!

There's *probably* nothing too abnormal happening here. She could be going through a tiny bit of a molt. Who knows.

But, the first thing to do is rule out mites properly. After that I wouldn't worry too much!!!
 

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