Help Me Identify My Chickens!

[Amirah]

Thank you so much for all the thought and consideration you put in trying to help me. This is the bird that was rescued from the harsh living conditions. When I got her I also rescued 3 other birds (now rehomed to a wonderful home!) and they all looked a total mess. When I first got this bird, her toenails where grown sooo long and curled over in strange ways that she couldn't even walk!

When I tried cutting her toenails back, the cuticle had grown out with it and it would bleed Its just like in those documentaries you see with the birds that spent their life in those battery cages and the toenails never got trimmed from walking on the floor. The batch of birds I rescued had so many feathers missing because they would eat each others feathers. Is that from lack of nutrition so the instincts is to get protein from anywhere?

Shes a poor thing but the sweetest chicken ever. I do believe she needs extra nutrition, love and care and that there probably is some darker forces at work because I see no pin feathers at all for the last 2 months. Also I have never seen my birds pecking at each other eating each others feathers or anything like that. I will powder her really well, give her a higher protein diet, probiotics, etc. Luckily her toenails are under control now, she can walk comfortably again, not stressed, and just needs some time and medicine to make a full recovery. Will keep everyone posted!

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Thank you so much for all the thought and consideration you put in trying to help me. This is the bird that was rescued from the harsh living conditions. When I got her I also rescued 3 other birds (now rehomed to a wonderful home!) and they all looked a total mess. When I first got this bird, her toenails where grown sooo long and curled over in strange ways that she couldn't even walk!

When I tried cutting her toenails back, the cuticle had grown out with it and it would bleed Its just like in those documentaries you see with the birds that spent their life in those battery cages and the toenails never got trimmed from walking on the floor. The batch of birds I rescued had so many feathers missing because they would eat each others feathers. Is that from lack of nutrition so the instincts is to get protein from anywhere?

Shes a poor thing but the sweetest chicken ever. I do believe she needs extra nutrition, love and care and that there probably is some darker forces at work because I see no pin feathers at all for the last 2 months. Also I have never seen my birds pecking at each other eating each others feathers or anything like that. I will powder her really well, give her a higher protein diet, probiotics, etc. Luckily her toenails are under control now, she can walk comfortably again, not stressed, and just needs some time and medicine to make a full recovery. Will keep everyone posted!

Wow...you have been through a lot with this bird...so glad she is making a slow but steady recovery.

Yes, birds will cannibalize and pick feathers for lack of nutrition...the scourge of battery hens.

When you dust, be sure to repeat in 10 to 14 days as the nits that hatch later will also need to be treated. I would even do it a third time with this bird just to be sure. It's pretty easy if you use a small garbage bag...put the dust in the bag, put her in the bag, with her head out, then shake gently.

EDITED TO ADD: you may get away with simple "powder puffing" the rest of your flock if they are not showing signs of infestation...put dust in nylon and "puff" their vents and under wings. Then put dust in their favorite dusting bath spot...I've cured mild infestations with a simple "puff" and then let them dust.

Good luck with her!
Lady of McCamley

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Thank you all for your wonderful advice! I have dusted my chickens with "Sevin dust powder" about 3-4 months ago.

I recall when I first rescued the barnyard mix I had also checked and powdered her as a safety precaution but didn't see
any mites or creepy crawlies on her. But maybe she does have something that comes out in the night time.

I have a final exam today (anatomy!) and as soon as I get back from school I will powder all my chickens and check to
see if I can see any bugs. I do check some of my chickens here and there and still didn't see any bugs ( check 4-5 spots
every time I check per chicken including the vent area). Last random check was about a week ago and I saw nothing.

*Does anyone know what factors increases parasite growth. Like hot weather or rainy weather? Months ago after couple
weeks of hot dry weather that's when I noticed an explosion in the mite population and dusted my chickens.

** When a chicken molts, do the feathers usually grow back shortly after, or do they have a bald spot for months before
the feathers grow back? I know every chicken is different but what is the general rule? I am sure by 2 months everything
should be coming back to normal by now, right? I will dust her really well tonight!

Oops...I didn't see this post before posting before as it was hidden on an additional page...

It sounds like you have been dusting...but mites/lice are a nagging problem and as I said in a follow up post, you need to do it in increments of 10 days to catch the new hatchings from the nits otherwise you just never catch up to the problem and it goes on forever.

Parasite overgrowth typically occurs in birds that have been stressed in their environment or in their health conditions....over heated, over crowded, lack of good nutrition, lack of water (dehydration), too much lighting, etc., will all stress an animal's immune system which keeps things such as worms, bacteria/yeast, and mites/lice in check. Your rescue bird in her extreme conditions was almost certainly overtaken by something!

Molting regrowth does take time, but it varies with each bird and breed, whether the breed is a hard molt type or a soft molt type. The commercial egg laying breeds have been selected to molt later in their laying cycle (around 18 months or so) and molt very hard and very quickly so they get over the molt and go back to laying. Other, more heritage types (and barnyard mixes in my experience can often fall into more "heritage" as they get back some of those lost genes) do what is called a "soft molt" which means they lose feathers very slowly and gently for a long period of time..some almost 6 months!

Typically you can expect regrowth to begin almost immediately to several weeks to many weeks depending upon the molt type of the bird, but not see full feathering regrowth for several months. Some birds (the soft or "early" molts) do take much longer to complete the molt cycle. If a bird is taking longer, especially on a hard molt, I suspicion other things dragging her system down and give even additional support to the increased protein, BOSS, ACV, yogurt, garlic, etc. I typically will worm with Rooster Booster Multi Wormer which has a lot of vitamins/minerals/probiotics and meds to knock the worms down sot the hen can recover better.

Good luck again.
Lady of McCamley

EDITED TO ADD: Here's a good article on molting
http://msucares.com/poultry/management/poultry_feathers.html

EDITED TO ADD TOO: Yes, seasonal conditions greatly increase infestation factors...dusty conditions, especially feather dust, can cause an overgrowth of lice/mites. Wet conditions cause fungal infections (we have to watch out for mold here in our great Northwet). During winter, birds tend to stay longer in the coops, rubbing wings more, which causes populations to increase in the mites/lice. Molting in itself is a great stressor that can leave birds vulnerable to other things too...and leaves feathers around for the lice/mites to cling to.

 

[BantamLover21]

The darker bird with the black collar and tail looks like a hatchery quality New Hampshire. The lighter bird looks like a barnyard mix. Her color, light shanks and loose, soft feathering could indicate some buff Orpington in the gene pool, but her small size would mean she's pretty mixed, enough no other breed jumps out right away.

x3

 

[Amirah]

Good news! I see lots of pin feathers coming in!

 

[Amirah]

Here is my flock and my first batch of eggs!!! Enjoy!