Living situation to blame for bald spots?

[KerryCooks]

Hey y’all.
I’m new to all of this!
One of my four hens has three bald spots and I posted elsewhere about that. One photo of her is attached to this thread.
Folks suggested I post photos of the run and coop in hopes of discovering if the chickens living situation is in some way to blame for her bald spots. She is also the skinniest and gets picked on a little, but I don’t ever see other chickens doing what it would take to create her bald spots.
Folks also suggested perhaps lice, but I’d have no idea how to know if she has lice. Please advise if you’re expert on that.

So here are pictures of their outdoor fenced in area, the inside of the run, the nest, and the roost. Let me know if you see anything that’s problematic please, and thanks so much for reading.

 

[Mamatomany123]

I think that's plenty of pace for 4 hens. It looks like I my just be molting. She also looks like she has bumble foot on the web between her toes that needs to be taken care of.

 

[KerryCooks]

I think that's plenty of pace for 4 hens. It looks like I my just be molting. She also looks like she has bumble foot on the web between her toes that needs to be taken care of

I think that's plenty of pace for 4 hens. It looks like I my just be molting. She also looks like she has bumble foot on the web between her toes that needs to be taken care of.

Would one chicken really be molting when none of the others are at all?!

Would one chicken really be molting when none of the others are at all?!

 

[Mamatomany123]

Would one chicken really be molting when none of the others are at all?!

Definitely. I currently have one who's molting and has been for about a month. I have others the same age as her who have gone through a molt yet. Some also molt harder than others so it's not so noticeable.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I agree there is a bumble in the webbing.

Is she the only debeaked bird? That can explain the skinny status and can contribute to not getting enough protein for proper feather growth.
It can also make preening harder which can allow mites or lice to find her a good home.

Checking for lice means a good close look right down to the skin around her vent, under wings and belly areas for any tiny crawling things. If you see white or light grey clumps stuck to the feather shafts near the skin that would be eggs. Mites don't always live ON the bird. Some hide in the nooks and crannies of the coop. For those I run a paper towel along the underside of the roost after they are roosted for the night. It will have red streaks from mites that have fed and grey for squished unfed mites.

All that being said....
I have an Orpington that molts in fall, looks great all winter and goes bikini beach naked all summer. She is a genetic hot mess.

 

[KerryCooks]

Definitely. I currently have one who's molting and has been for about a month. I have others the same age as her who have gone through a molt yet. Some also molt harder than others so it's not so noticeable.

OK so today I was REALLY watching the birds, and the red one was pecking at herself a lot. I kept watching, and realized that one of the big black ones was also pecking at herself a lot. Maybe it's just how they clean themselves, maybe it's pests. UNCLEAR TO ME!! Help! But the large black one has some bald spots near her butt, they hadn't been noticeable to me yet, they aren't as obvious as the bald spots on the red one. So does this mean pests is the problem? Because the other one who has bald spots near her butt is the bigger bully, so it isn't that.

Another option is molting, I suppose. Does that happen in random chunks, and anywhere on the body, and at the beginning of summer??

My landlord brought me diatomaceous earth and Omega feed from Wilco today, and told me to try adding some of the DE to the feed, as well as sprinkling it into the dirt where they take their dust baths...

 

[KerryCooks]

I agree there is a bumble in the webbing.

Is she the only debeaked bird? That can explain the skinny status and can contribute to not getting enough protein for proper feather growth.
It can also make preening harder which can allow mites or lice to find her a good home.

Checking for lice means a good close look right down to the skin around her vent, under wings and belly areas for any tiny crawling things. If you see white or light grey clumps stuck to the feather shafts near the skin that would be eggs. Mites don't always live ON the bird. Some hide in the nooks and crannies of the coop. For those I run a paper towel along the underside of the roost after they are roosted for the night. It will have red streaks from mites that have fed and grey for squished unfed mites.

All that being said....
I have an Orpington that molts in fall, looks great all winter and goes bikini beach naked all summer. She is a genetic hot mess.

I had no idea she was de beaked!!! Maybe I don't know what that means, but she does have a beak, so I'm confused / freaked out by this...

These bald spots have not been an issue for the past year that I've lived here. This is totally new stuff. My landlord brought me diatomaceous earth and Omega feed from Wilco today, and told me to try adding some of the DE to the feed, as well as sprinkling it into the dirt where they take their dust baths...

I will do the paper towel trick on their roost. Is it a sign of anything that the two big black birds have been sleeping inside their nest, instead of on the roost?

Thanks again!

 

[21hens-incharge]

I had no idea she was de beaked!!! Maybe I don't know what that means, but she does have a beak, so I'm confused / freaked out by this...

These bald spots have not been an issue for the past year that I've lived here. This is totally new stuff. My landlord brought me diatomaceous earth and Omega feed from Wilco today, and told me to try adding some of the DE to the feed, as well as sprinkling it into the dirt where they take their dust baths...

I will do the paper towel trick on their roost. Is it a sign of anything that the two big black birds have been sleeping inside their nest, instead of on the roost?

Thanks again!

Debeaking is done on birds when extremely young. It is common in factory farms to prevent pecking each other. It is the clipping of the upper beak to shorten it....in some cases they are cut to short and it never grows back. Yours looks like it's not super short. Basically they cannot pinch with the beak if the beak tip is removed.

If her beak wasn't cut when you got her he may have damaged it herself.

DE....it is unproven and there have been many many threads about it on here. I would not use it. It is a lung irritant, becomes airborne easily and is harmful to honey bees. DE is not effective especially when wet so adding to the feed won't work.

You want something with permethrin in it....Permethrin 10 is what most use. It has mixing instructions.
There is also a powder called garden and poultry dust.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I had no idea she was de beaked!!! Maybe I don't know what that means, but she does have a beak, so I'm confused / freaked out by this...

These bald spots have not been an issue for the past year that I've lived here. This is totally new stuff. My landlord brought me diatomaceous earth and Omega feed from Wilco today, and told me to try adding some of the DE to the feed, as well as sprinkling it into the dirt where they take their dust baths...

I will do the paper towel trick on their roost. Is it a sign of anything that the two big black birds have been sleeping inside their nest, instead of on the roost?

Thanks again!

Missed that last line.....

It can be a sign that mites are coming out at night while they are on the roost.

 

[Mamatomany123]

OK so today I was REALLY watching the birds, and the red one was pecking at herself a lot. I kept watching, and realized that one of the big black ones was also pecking at herself a lot. Maybe it's just how they clean themselves, maybe it's pests. UNCLEAR TO ME!! Help! But the large black one has some bald spots near her butt, they hadn't been noticeable to me yet, they aren't as obvious as the bald spots on the red one. So does this mean pests is the problem? Because the other one who has bald spots near her butt is the bigger bully, so it isn't that.

Another option is molting, I suppose. Does that happen in random chunks, and anywhere on the body, and at the beginning of summer??

My landlord brought me diatomaceous earth and Omega feed from Wilco today, and told me to try adding some of the DE to the feed, as well as sprinkling it into the dirt where they take their dust baths...

I've noticed that every chicken molts differently. I have many who just lose a few breast feathers. One who loses more feathers than the other but till not bad. Then this one. She's a hot mess right now. And yes, they can molt at the beginning of summer. I currently have 4 molting right now.

I would check the roost at night just to rule out mites. Run a clean white paper towel along it. If there re mites you will have blood smears.

Chickens do prean themselves and do even more if they're molting. The new feathers coming in are uncomfortable.