Hens missing patch of feathers. ***PICTURE ADDED**

[BushHog936]

No broken skin. I will check again for mites/lice maybe I missed them. What does an infestation normally look like? Shouldn't there be reddness, swelling, or irritation near the bald patches? Thanks for the advice, your guess is most likely better than my own since I obviously don't know.

 

[Judy]

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What you would see is clusters of tiny whitish eggs at the base of the feathers, or tiny bugs moving on the skin or along the feathers.

Lice and mites are almost unavoidable, one of those things that are best handled with a prevention program. They are carried by wild birds. Frankly, the simplest thing would be to pick up a can of "poultry dust" at the feed store and dust them: on the neck, around the vent, and under the wings, particularly. Even if this is not the root of the problem, it won't hurt, and they probably could use the treatment. Poultry dust is usually perethrin and/or pyrethrin, not exactly highly toxic chemicals.

No, you won't necessarily see redness, swelling or irritation. Depends on the cause. Not necessarily present even with mites/lice.

It could be that the root cause of the problem is feather plucking. This usually happens because of protein deficiency (feathers are high in protein.) Simple enough to increase the protein in the diet: just add a little as a treat. Yogurt, meat scraps, a can of canned mackerel, fish scraps from cleaning fish, cooked egg, table leftovers with meat in them -- whatever is handy.

Protein isn't typically cheap, so I am always a little suspicious that standard chicken diets might be a little low in it.

 

[threehorses]

When you dust the birds, dust the premises too - under the bedding (scrape it aside, dust, put it back) and on the bedding (stir in well) as well.

Sometimes it's recommended to pain the walls to help seal up cracks so that bugs can't hide in them as easily. Yada yada.

 

[BushHog936]

Thanks for the replies. Feather plucking can be caused from low protein diet? This makes sense, my grandmother only feeds them scratch and corn, she's old timey. Here, they are getting lay feed.

 

[threehorses]

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It used to be that the grains like wheat, corn, milo that make up scratch were higher quality - as was the land around us. There were a lot more nutrients in the ground then, a lot more minerals, still in the foodstuff. In fact, even today the protein content alone of these foods fluctuates greatly depending on the conditions where they're grown.

Also "back then" birds would often get milk products, buttermilk (which still had the bacteria in it then - old fashioned probiotics), etc that would boost protein and nutrients.

But the way that we've used fertilizers instead of crop rotations to grow crops for profit now have changed the nutritional "punch" of the grains. Now it's more like a "half-intended slap"

That's why now it's recommended for newer owners (and really more experienced ones unless they're darn good at feed design) to feed mostly a complete ration.

Also, feather picking can be bahavioral. I just read a book that recommends hanging up branges or stalks of something they can eat (providing, of course, grit ahead of time) to help with behavioral issues. Some books even recommend hanging some chain here and there in the yard if the birds are kept in a coop/run situation. Something else to consider concerning the picking if you rule out the parasites first, always a great thing to do.

Just some thoughts.

 

[BushHog936]

Diet seems the culprit to me since there's not mites/ lice to be seen. No vent picking or boredom between the chickens like I mentioned, they've got lots of space at her place (she only keeps to chickens now because she live by herself). Thanks for the grain info..

 

[threehorses]

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You're welcome. Oh and scratch is still very useful. If you use it in the afternoons/evenings, it'll keep the birds busy (note busy as in not picking at one another), keep their bedding turned over, etc etc. Plus I do believe in some grains in the diet. Personally I prefer whole (horse) oats as the hulls help feed the good bacteria in the gut, cleanse the gut, and they're higher in protein than scratch (which averages about 8-9% tops - oats are more around 10-11%). Oats will put condition on a bird without much fat. The ones that they don't get will grow into oatgrass. It's just lovely stuff.

The only problem with oats is that some stores don't offer less than 50 lb bags while scratch comes in smaller batches.

Just a little more info for ya'

 

[ZooMummzy]

All this info was very good, thank you! I came on tonight to look up this exact problem. One of my girls does have some swelling/irritation around her face but I think she is always digging at it. I thought they were molting too and also about the feather picking so I upped the protein. Didn't help. We moved them to a new coop that is painted and cleaned completely weekly. Still not helping. I have some poultry dust and will start the bathing tomorrow. Should I do the little ones too? They are 2-4 months old right now and are not showing any signs but if they are around the older ones....?

 

[threehorses]

Hmmm you should check them thoroughly first. If you see any sign of it, then yes - do them, too.

You'll want to treat all the premises anyway.

 

[ZooMummzy]

Quote:
Ok thank you. I wasn't sure if it was safe to do them or not.