Lice or Pecking?

[Kathy Golla]

Good to know I will look up what to look for. Regarding dust bath, I have 14 inch diameter round metal pan about 3 inches deep with dry dirt and diatomaceous earth mix. Is that sufficient for 4 chickens? I am adding 4 more now. So I would have 8 total but up until yesterday I had that pan out for 4 of them. I also do a deep littering method in the coop and I regularly sprinkle diatomaceous earth in that to keep bugs out.

Personally from trial and error now in my pen I just make sure there is deep dirt (no fertilizer, no rocks), in a couple of spots. Big spots. To me 14 ins is too small. Gotta be a foot deep and maybe 3 ft wide so a couple hens can get in there together...dust bathing is an important social event for hens. It takes some trial and error to determine what they like. My hens don’t go in their coop except to sleep and lay eggs. Has to be where they hang out during the day.
What’s your set up?
Whatever you do, gotta keep the dust bath dry during the winter.

 

[Kathy Golla]

Like this

 

[Ddbaruch]

Personally from trial and error now in my pen I just make sure there is deep dirt (no fertilizer, no rocks), in a couple of spots. Big spots. To me 14 ins is too small. Gotta be a foot deep and maybe 3 ft wide so a couple hens can get in there together...dust bathing is an important social event for hens. It takes some trial and error to determine what they like. My hens don’t go in their coop except to sleep and lay eggs. Has to be where they hang out during the day.
What’s your set up?
Whatever you do, gotta keep the dust bath dry during the winter.

Got a 10x10 foot run and a 6x8 foot attached coop. For 8 chickens total. Plenty of space from what I have researched. I might close off underneath the coop and put the dust bath down there. Thanks!

 

[Ddbaruch]

If no mites/lice yes it’s probably feather picking. I’d like to know more about why that hen has no tail feathers.
So you have to watch and see during the day who is picking at each other.
How much space do you have? Do they free range?
Top reason for feather picking is lack of space and/or boredom.
You can use a higher protein 18% all flock feed to satisfy their appetites, some people have success, some dont with that.
If the picking isn’t happening during the day it’s happening at night on the roost and those that have perfect feathers are the suspects.
You don’t have a rooster right?

No rooster just one hen with a big old tail and another with a medium tail and two that look identical on the butts. Little broken tails and a bunch of fuzzy feathers like in the photo

 

[Ddbaruch]

No rooster just one hen with a big old tail and another with a medium tail and two that look identical on the butts. Little broken tails and a bunch of fuzzy feathers like in the photo

So I googled how to check for lice and mites checked both chickens and no signs of lice or mites. I guess it has to be pecking. I also build a 1 foot deep by 3 foot wide dust bathing area under the coop where it’s enclosed so it will stay dry!

 

[Sentimentalgamer]

On the subject of lice...is it the same kind humans can get?

 

[Kathy Golla]

No humans can’t get poultry lice or mites.

 

[Kathy Golla]

Ok good job, and good news on all fronts. Lucky hens. You will get a kick out of seeing them use it. Dust bathing hens are happy hens.
Now you’ve gotta keep an eyeball out and see if you can see feather picking during the day. Who’s the suspect(s)?
Do your best to make sure they aren’t getting bored during the day. Think about doing dlm in your pen so they can dig during the day (?)
If they aren’t doing it during the day they are doing it at night on the roost. You can try a camera.
Some people change feed to a higher protein feed, if you search the threads, there’s a lot of opinions.
The pecking could be temporary, but you want to try to manage it so it doesn’t become a huge habit.