Hens Losing Feathers (mainly on back but now their bums!)

[chickiebb]

Hi guys,

My girls have been looking really ratty the last I would say 3-4 months. First losing their feathers on their back just above the tail but still fuzzy and now they are losing their fluff on their butts. I would say maybe they are transitioning into a molt since their egg laying has slowed and our temperatures have been dropping at night since we are moving into Fall but the fluff on their backs have been like that for as I said the last 3-4 months. I had originally checked them for any mites or lice, didn’t see anything. Talked to my feed lady, she gave me some DE to put in their feed and water as a dewormer just incase. The only thing I did different was add wood ash to their sand for dust bathing and that’s when their fuzzy backs appeared. Not sure if that was just coincidence? Today because it’s still concerning me, I checked them again and couldn’t find any sort of bug on them. Their skin looked clean maybe some sand bits here and there from them bathing and maybe a bit of dandruff. I’m noticing more feathers are falling out of them the last few days in the run and coop. They get an 18% protein layer feed. And I’ve also been giving some black oiled sunflower seeds for extra protein. They are roughly 1 1/2 - 2 years old.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

 

[chickiebb]

I just want to add that I am from Ontario, Canada and this summer has been a real hot one... not sure if the heat would’ve had any relevance here?

 

[coach723]

Do you have a rooster? If not then likely a dominant hen (the black & white one looks remarkably untouched - perhaps the instigator?). In the absence of a roo, some hens will do mounting behavior like a roo would, that is often the cause of feather loss on the back like that. Looks like mounting damage and/or feather picking. Feather picking is probably what is going on with the feather loss around the vents. Common causes of feather picking are over crowding, boredom, or not enough protein in the diet (excessive treats can cause a drop in total protein intake). Feather picking will often happen at night on the roosts, usually if I find bare butts, that's the cause. How many birds do you have in how much space, and how much roost space do they have? You can also look up boredom busters for chickens to give them something else to do. They may be beginning molt, in which case you should see pin feathers coming in, look around the head/neck, under wings, around the vent for those, I can't see any obvious in the pictures, but if you separate some feathers they may be there. I put wood ash in dust bath areas all the time, no issues with that. DE will not work for worms or external parasites. Some mites live in the coop and come out at night to feed on the chicken, you have to check at night with a flashlight. If you suspect intestinal worms may be an issue then getting a fecal done to test for that would be a good idea if you can, and using an appropriate worming medication for the particular worm found. For external parasites a permethrin product is most often used, and both the coop and the birds would need to be treated.
For future reference: https://the-chicken-chick.com/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification/

 

[chickiebb]

Do you have a rooster? If not then likely a dominant hen (the black & white one looks remarkably untouched - perhaps the instigator?). In the absence of a roo, some hens will do mounting behavior like a roo would, that is often the cause of feather loss on the back like that. Looks like mounting damage and/or feather picking. Feather picking is probably what is going on with the feather loss around the vents. Common causes of feather picking are over crowding, boredom, or not enough protein in the diet (excessive treats can cause a drop in total protein intake). Feather picking will often happen at night on the roosts, usually if I find bare butts, that's the cause. How many birds do you have in how much space, and how much roost space do they have? You can also look up boredom busters for chickens to give them something else to do. They may be beginning molt, in which case you should see pin feathers coming in, look around the head/neck, under wings, around the vent for those, I can't see any obvious in the pictures, but if you separate some feathers they may be there. I put wood ash in dust bath areas all the time, no issues with that. DE will not work for worms or external parasites. Some mites live in the coop and come out at night to feed on the chicken, you have to check at night with a flashlight. If you suspect intestinal worms may be an issue then getting a fecal done to test for that would be a good idea if you can, and using an appropriate worming medication for the particular worm found. For external parasites a permethrin product is most often used, and both the coop and the birds would need to be treated.
For future reference: https://the-chicken-chick.com/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification/

Wow! Thank you, very informative.

I do not have a rooster. I have 6 hens. The coop is approx. 32 sq ft. With two roosts that are probably about 45” long each. However, all 6 of them decide to roost on the same one and they have done this from day 1 with the exception of maybe 1 or 2 days. They have 3 nesting boxes. Their run outside is approx 65 sq ft. And they do go outside for supervised free ranging when I’m home in the evenings so that they do not go to far from the coop. I haven’t let them out the last couple of weeks due to having a bear visit our property and our coop quite frequently so I didn’t want to take any chances.

Funny enough the black and white one (Scotchie) she is my smallest one, she stands her ground and usually doesn’t get picked on but she is the one that I see always minding her own business. I watched their behaviour this afternoon/evening and did notice a few of them pecking at each other. Then upon letting them out today I picked each one up again and examined them even further... now I’m noticing the feathers or fluff on the back are actually broken off half way. On one of them their bum feathers at the shaft were bleeding a bit. There were pin feathers on each of them all growing in but definitely evidence of feather picking for sure now that I’m looking for it.

I don’t believe I have an issue of worms as their poops have always looked normal aside from them over indulging on watermelon on our hot days they usually have runnier poos a day or two after but then back to normal. If I did want to do a fecal test where would I take it? I don’t know of any poultry vets in my area. Also, I’m having a really hard time getting any sort of wormer for chickens as the TSC up here supplies literally nothing for chickens and my local feed lady only swears by DE...!

Canada seems to have a lot of restrictions on pesticide type medications or sprays, etc. And it’s all either banned or regulated. Can be frustrating!

I guess my next steps would be to look into the “boredom busters”!?

Thanks for your time!

 

[coach723]

Some vets will do a fecal even if they don't see birds, some will not. There are mail in options in the US, not sure in Canada. https://www.statelinetack.com/item/...liate&utm_medium=category&utm_campaign=ppjcat
I'm not sure of what is available in Canada for worming, seems like everything may be prescription. Most wormers used for chickens are used 'off label" and are livestock or horse wormers. If you do get one you can get help with dosing here. This thread is a year old, but lists some stuff by a Canadian poster, may be helpful, or you could try posting a thread specifically asking for others in Canada for help with that. See post #26 in this thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/green-diarrhea-someone-please-help.1187296/page-3
If you do a search for boredom busters for chickens you will find many suggestions, hopefully some of them will work for you.
There are lots of people who tout DE, there are also plenty of articles about it not being effective, and that it can be a source of respiratory irritation. I found from personal experience that it doesn't work. It just doesn't.
Here is one article on it, there are many more, covering both sides of the argument:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/the-cut-dry-truth-about-diatomaceous/

 

[chickiebb]

Some vets will do a fecal even if they don't see birds, some will not. There are mail in options in the US, not sure in Canada. https://www.statelinetack.com/item/...liate&utm_medium=category&utm_campaign=ppjcat
I'm not sure of what is available in Canada for worming, seems like everything may be prescription. Most wormers used for chickens are used 'off label" and are livestock or horse wormers. If you do get one you can get help with dosing here. This thread is a year old, but lists some stuff by a Canadian poster, may be helpful, or you could try posting a thread specifically asking for others in Canada for help with that. See post #26 in this thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/green-diarrhea-someone-please-help.1187296/page-3
If you do a search for boredom busters for chickens you will find many suggestions, hopefully some of them will work for you.
There are lots of people who tout DE, there are also plenty of articles about it not being effective, and that it can be a source of respiratory irritation. I found from personal experience that it doesn't work. It just doesn't.
Here is one article on it, there are many more, covering both sides of the argument:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/the-cut-dry-truth-about-diatomaceous/

Thank you again coach723, you have been so helpful