Inherited flock with bare shoulders

[Lelilamom]

We just bought a farm and the sellers left their small, poorly cared for flock of chickens. We think there are 10 laying hens in addition to a bunch of bantams and two roosters. Most of the hens, possibly all, have severely picked shoulders and backs. One of the hens just hatched five chicks and she hides in all sorts of places in the overgrown, neglected yard. I've gotten close enough to her just to see that her shoulders are pretty picked. There are three other hens that are sitting on eggs, and they are the same. I managed to grab one and hold her for a little while, though she screamed the whole time. I checked her thoroughly and could not see any mites.

Are there mites that are invisible or could this simply be evidence of over-eager roosters? I can't get close enough to get a picture and the coop is so dark my pics don't show anything. The sellers owned this farm for 20 years (it was their childhood home too!) after returning to take over for an ailing parent and showed absolutely no care or love for the house, grounds or animals. Sickening.

 

[kitkat5505]

There are mites you can't see. Take a paper or tissue and rub it on the walls of the coop or the roosts, if it gets tiny red streaks there's mites. I'd treat them anyway because of how neglected they've been. They're probably overdue for a deworming treatment also. It could also be from not getting enough or the right feed. Hopefully under your care they'll all start doing better quickly.

 

[coach723]

It's easier to check them for mites at night when they are roosting. They tend to be a little calmer then, just use a flashlight or lantern to look them over. It's also very likely that it is rooster damage. Two roo's to 10 hens is a bit much ratio-wise. You can use hen saddles (http://www.hensaver.com/ - or make some) to help protect their backs until they feather in, or get more hens, or separate the roo's out for a while. Even upping the # of hens may still leave some favorites that get more attention than others. They may not feather out until they molt again. If the hens are all real skittish and you go with the hen saddles you will probably have to put them on at night while they are on the roost also. Here is an article with pictures to help with the lice/mites identification: http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/08/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification.html

 

[kwhites634]

Sounds as though life won't be boring at your place for a while.

I don't think there would be "invisible" mites, but I can believe some that are small enough to go unseen w/o magnification.
You might try changing all the bedding in the coop & dusting/spraying with permethrin (probably spelled wrong); can't hurt, may help.

 

[Dmontgomery]

It's rough that you inherited a bad situation, but good that now the chickens have someone that will care for them. I think its probably a case of over mating, from your description. I have the same problem with several of the hens. Bare shoulders and feathers plucked off the back of their heads. I only have 2 roosters with 20 hens, but they go at the girls constantly.

 

[Lelilamom]

Thank you for so many replies! I suspect it's over-eager roos as well. The roos keep these three girls in the coop constantly and we hear them mating quite often in the overgrowth. We did manage, as a condition of the sale, to get the sellers to thoroughly clean the coop, replace bedding and dust it. The seller was actually particular about feed - he used only one brand of layer pellets and insisted that I never buy medicated feed for the newly hatched chicks. Such an odd request since the first time we looked at the property, the coop was filthy, infested with mice and wild birds and piled high in droppings, was left wide open in sub freezing temps and the rest of the property hasn't been attended to in a good 15 years. I would think medicated feed would be a godsend considering the possible disease from the filthy coop alone.