hen pulling feathers

[lindy]

so i noticed most my year old plus hens have naked necks on one side mostly. first thought it was lice but havent seen anything and have dusted a few times just in case. Well i noticed my older legbar partially blind hen just hang out with one and then start plucking feathers and eating them ! what do i do.

also, i have one hen who has nasty butt feathers, liker her poop is more liquid then it should be. I put some diamond yeast in the food and tried the womans yeast cream but didnt do anything. The other hen has slightly dirty rear feathers but not like this one. i have them on this really good feed so not sure how to help this issue. all the younger hens are normal.

 

[nuthatched]

What's diamond yeast?

 

[Stravager]

Is it just on their necks or are they losing feathers elsewhere? They could potentially be molting which could cause some digestive stress.
Are their feathers brittle? They could be experiencing a protein or vitamin deficiency.
What feed are they on?
Feather plucking could also be a sign of boredom.

 

[Saveria]

So, I think you want to make sure they have an issue and then do a full course of treatment. Does she have sour crop? Then you'll want to engage with anti-yeast medicines. Doing a little bit usually won't fix the problem, though, and it is good to be sure before you treat.

Messy butts can be from internal parasites and external parasites. I would think about worming and get in there and check everyone for any signs of lice or mites. I even just had one pass from internal laying and her butt was the worst I have ever seen. You kind of want to get curious when this happens. Also, I usually clip some of the feathers around the vent, very carefully, to help it stop building up.

I had pinless peepers for my feather eaters. It helped some, but some are so smart they figure out a way around it.

 

[lindy]

What's diamond yeast?

postbiotic feed additive

 

[lindy]

So, I think you want to make sure they have an issue and then do a full course of treatment. Does she have sour crop? Then you'll want to engage with anti-yeast medicines. Doing a little bit usually won't fix the problem, though, and it is good to be sure before you treat.

Messy butts can be from internal parasites and external parasites. I would think about worming and get in there and check everyone for any signs of lice or mites. I even just had one pass from internal laying and her butt was the worst I have ever seen. You kind of want to get curious when this happens. Also, I usually clip some of the feathers around the vent, very carefully, to help it stop building up.

I had pinless peepers for my feather eaters. It helped some, but some are so smart they figure out a way around it.

no sour crop, she seems fine other then that, i havent dewormed them in awhile though. i have clipped all the rear feathers on the three opal legbars, the feathers were long that the mud would get on them and make it worse(they are the larger birds) so trimmed them just as they molted last winter. i thought of the peepers but she already has issues seeing that im sure she wouldnt do well with them.

 

[lindy]

Is it just on their necks or are they losing feathers elsewhere? They could potentially be molting which could cause some digestive stress.
Are their feathers brittle? They could be experiencing a protein or vitamin deficiency.
What feed are they on?
Feather plucking could also be a sign of boredom.

ok so it is locally milled, well semi-locally its 3 hours away i like it so much better then all the feed i tried at the feed store minus scratch and peck.
i end up adding water to the feed so they eat all of it, per sitting. i feed them 2x a day.
18% protein, 4.5 % fat, lysine 1%, methionine .39
cal0 3.25-.4.25
phos .5
salt .10-.40
wheat, peas, camelina meal, crab meal, fish meal, suncured alfalfa meal, ground limestone, veg oil, monocalicum phospate, kelp meal and then it goes on to list the rest.

 

[Saveria]

i end up adding water to the feed so they eat all of it

I do that, too. It looks like you've had chickens for a while. Is your intuition telling you anything?

 

[lindy]

I do that, too. It looks like you've had chickens for a while. Is your intuition telling you anything?

i never had any pick feathers until i brought these ladies home going on a year and a half now. I had another i think pecked feathers but she died, i think she internal laid. They are older birds but still lay 2x a week. She had alot more in a coop so they had shredded feathers and very wild. I believe this feather eater got her eye pecked i tried so many treatments for her eye but nothing helped so i just gave up and let her be. i was trying for opal legbars but all the boys i had were nasty so changed breeds. I wanted to rehome these gals but one having a yukky butt i didnt want to until i figured out the issue.

 

[Saveria]

I guess you could try to worm and see if it gets better. Do you know what to look for to find lice and mites?

I rehomed my feather pickers, too. The person didn't mind taking them. I had a couple of hens do it through the years, but they never stuck with it. They almost always are eating on the rooster, too.