Help! Skin peeling on entire body and weird noises!!

[scalci]

Hi,

My girls have been struggling with scaly leg mites and lice for a few months now. I had two 7+ y/o hens die a few months ago and now I have two 3 y/o and a 8.5 y/o.

One of the 3 y/o’s has had a bare inflamed butt for about a year now but other than that has been fine. I have treated the girls and the coop (as well as the run) with DE and permethrin (dust and spray) over the last few months. I have also been doing almost daily health checks and lately their skin (especially combs, wattles, and earlobes) have been quite dry and showing signs of mite bites. Since the last treatment two have improved and my Maybelle (3 y/o) has drastically gotten worse.

Attached are some pictures of how I found her last night. Her skin is peeling off in sheets all over her body, severe feather loss, and she’s making odd sounds. I can’t upload videos because the files are too big no matter how short the video.

Please help!!
Thank you!

 

[scalci]

 

[Fur-N-Fowl]

Do they still have lice/mites? Did you manage to get rid of the scaly leg also?

If they are free from them, there is a high chance your chickens are actually going through their moult. My Silkies are currently moulting and when their new feathers are coming in, their skin, scales and combs get very dry. Sometimes I will add a thin layer of petroleum jelly onto their legs and comb to keep them moist. As for their skin becoming flakey, I don't do anything as touching around new feathers can be painful for the birds and once feathers are grown back, the skin should calm down.

Have a check and see if their is any pin feathers coming in. Birds look awful during full (even partial) moults.

 

[DobieLover]

Hi,

My girls have been struggling with scaly leg mites and lice for a few months now. I had two 7+ y/o hens die a few months ago and now I have two 3 y/o and a 8.5 y/o.

One of the 3 y/o’s has had a bare inflamed butt for about a year now but other than that has been fine. I have treated the girls and the coop (as well as the run) with DE and permethrin (dust and spray) over the last few months. I have also been doing almost daily health checks and lately their skin (especially combs, wattles, and earlobes) have been quite dry and showing signs of mite bites. Since the last treatment two have improved and my Maybelle (3 y/o) has drastically gotten worse.

Attached are some pictures of how I found her last night. Her skin is peeling off in sheets all over her body, severe feather loss, and she’s making odd sounds. I can’t upload videos because the files are too big no matter how short the video.

Please help!!
Thank you!

To upload a video you need to post it to YouTube then post the link here.
The skin looks to have more of a fungal infection to me. Have you treated with any antifungal creams?

 

[scalci]

Do they still have lice/mites? Did you manage to get rid of the scaly leg also?

If they are free from them, there is a high chance your chickens are actually going through their moult. My Silkies are currently moulting and when their new feathers are coming in, their skin, scales and combs get very dry. Sometimes I will add a thin layer of petroleum jelly onto their legs and comb to keep them moist. As for their skin becoming flakey, I don't do anything as touching around new feathers can be painful for the birds and once feathers are grown back, the skin should calm down.

Have a check and see if their is any pin feathers coming in. Birds look awful during full (even partial) moults.

I can’t see any mites/lice, only one of them who was separated and passed away a few months back had them visible. But the scaly leg mites I haven’t been able to see even spending an hour inspecting each bird daily for about a month. I have only been able to see the scabs/scales, feather loss, inflamed and dry skin. I have treated them all with the DE and permethrin and since the other 2 seem to have improved except this one. I have had chickens for almost 9 years and never seen anything like this during molt. The petroleum jelly didn’t seem to make a difference when I was applying it daily for about 2 weeks. It’s been about a month since I stopped and it’s just now gotten this bad in the last few days.

 

[scalci]

To upload a video you need to post it to YouTube then plate the link here.
The skin looks to have more of a fungal infection to me. Have you treated with any antifungal creams?

That’s what I was afraid of. No I haven’t yet. I was reading about that a little earlier. Based on the name of the cream, it looks like i would just use the same cream as you would use for vaginal yeast infections? I was planning on looking into that next. I’m also concerned about the odd sounds she’s making. It seems like she is very hoarse or has respiratory issues.

 

[Fur-N-Fowl]

I can’t see any mites/lice, only one of them who was separated and passed away a few months back had them visible. But the scaly leg mites I haven’t been able to see even spending an hour inspecting each bird daily for about a month. I have only been able to see the scabs/scales, feather loss, inflamed and dry skin. I have treated them all with the DE and permethrin and since the other 2 seem to have improved except this one. I have had chickens for almost 9 years and never seen anything like this during molt. The petroleum jelly didn’t seem to make a difference when I was applying it daily for about 2 weeks. It’s been about a month since I stopped and it’s just now gotten this bad in the last few days.

Aw I'm sorry you lost one and are going through this with your chickens.

I'm not entirely sure then but some others here provide good advice. Best of luck with getting them back to full health

 

[scalci]

Also... should I be concerned that my hands all of a sudden strongly resemble her comb...

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi,

My girls have been struggling with scaly leg mites and lice for a few months now. I had two 7+ y/o hens die a few months ago and now I have two 3 y/o and a 8.5 y/o.

One of the 3 y/o’s has had a bare inflamed butt for about a year now but other than that has been fine. I have treated the girls and the coop (as well as the run) with DE and permethrin (dust and spray) over the last few months. I have also been doing almost daily health checks and lately their skin (especially combs, wattles, and earlobes) have been quite dry and showing signs of mite bites. Since the last treatment two have improved and my Maybelle (3 y/o) has drastically gotten worse.

Attached are some pictures of how I found her last night. Her skin is peeling off in sheets all over her body, severe feather loss, and she’s making odd sounds. I can’t upload videos because the files are too big no matter how short the video.

Please help!!
Thank you!

That’s what I was afraid of. No I haven’t yet. I was reading about that a little earlier. Based on the name of the cream, it looks like i would just use the same cream as you would use for vaginal yeast infections? I was planning on looking into that next. I’m also concerned about the odd sounds she’s making. It seems like she is very hoarse or has respiratory issues.

Also... should I be concerned that my hands all of a sudden strongly resemble her comb...

Can you post some photos of the legs too?
Scaly leg mites are treated by applying oil to the legs and feet - they have to be smothered - DE and Permethrin will not kill them. You can use coconut oil, castor oil, vaseline, etc. Apply a couple of times a week for several weeks making sure you work the oil under and into the scales.

I agree it looks like a fungal infection like Favus. Treatment would be with an anti-fungal cream (athlete's foot cream).
It is contagious, so you would need to wear gloves when treating her, this may be why your hands look like her comb. If it worsens and you are not able to clear it up, see your doctor.

Since she is hoarse sounding, look inside her beak for any canker, plaques or lesions. Observe her for symptoms of respiratory illness like coughing, sneezing, mucous or watery eyes.

 

[scalci]

So last night was scary... she was only able to walk sideways and when she did she was wobbling. She was screeching as if me touching her was extremely painful. She also was a little smellier than usual, not a chicken smell.

I put some of the Monistat cream on her comb, wattles, earlobes and face as well as on my 8 y/o who was showing slight signs of a skin issue as well.

Tonight when I came home from work they were all outside perching and Maybelle looks pretty amazing!! She’s actually standing on a perch without wobbling and she’s not making any wield noises and the best part is... her comb, wattles, earlobes, etc look the best they have looked in weeks!!! There’s still some loose patches of skin (a few look like they’re about to fall off) but the rest looks fairly moisturized and soft. No white dry flaky texture all over.

How long does it usually take to start helping?! I wasn’t expecting any improvement in the first 24 hours. Does this mean it was or it wasn’t the fungal infection? Is it just because the cream is helping hide the appearance of the flakiness? The other hen who only had slight signs looks much better too.

I’m going to go check her out more now and see how she’s behaving. But I’m a little more hopeful at least now!