TheAlarmedOtter
In the Brooder
- Dec 26, 2021
- 2
- 2
- 29
Hi everyone,
We have a small flock of nine birds (about three years old, all hens). They have a coop that leads into our garden, where they free range. It's a large space - the garden is 50'x75', although they only have access to about half of the space at a time. The birds have largely got along well, with no major incidents or issues. We have two water sources, a large feeder and they get table scraps in moderation. Today, they got a large cabbage as a treat.
Over the last two days, we've noticed very localized feather loss along the head of one the girls. My husband and I went out tonight with a flashlight to take a closer look, once everyone was roosting for the night. I'm in healthcare, so he held her while I checked her:
Comb - Red, no pallor.
Feet - Clean, dry, no lesions, redness, injuries or scales.
Wings - no mites or lice visualized.
Vent - clean, dry, no mites or lice visualized.
Head - 2-3 cm patch of bare skin, with some focal red spots. Broken feathers visualized, no mites or lice. No broken skin or abrasions. (See pictures)
We don't have any roosters and egg production has been good. I don't have a great way of tracking which bird lays which egg, but we've been getting 7-9 eggs/day, which is actually a lot more than I was expecting. They have the occasional off day (3-5 eggs), usually the day after a big lay. No other chickens are missing feathers or have any similar spots.
They usually molt all together in the fall, so this is a little off cycle for us. Looking at her, I think she's probably being picked on? But are there any other skin conditions I should look for? My first worry was lice or mites, but I really didn't see anything on her. She was feisty and put up quite the fight when we grabbed her for the exam tonight.
We're going to the feed store tomorrow - I was going to see about grabbing some medication for her, but now I'm not sure that it's necessary. Thoughts?
We have a small flock of nine birds (about three years old, all hens). They have a coop that leads into our garden, where they free range. It's a large space - the garden is 50'x75', although they only have access to about half of the space at a time. The birds have largely got along well, with no major incidents or issues. We have two water sources, a large feeder and they get table scraps in moderation. Today, they got a large cabbage as a treat.
Over the last two days, we've noticed very localized feather loss along the head of one the girls. My husband and I went out tonight with a flashlight to take a closer look, once everyone was roosting for the night. I'm in healthcare, so he held her while I checked her:
Comb - Red, no pallor.
Feet - Clean, dry, no lesions, redness, injuries or scales.
Wings - no mites or lice visualized.
Vent - clean, dry, no mites or lice visualized.
Head - 2-3 cm patch of bare skin, with some focal red spots. Broken feathers visualized, no mites or lice. No broken skin or abrasions. (See pictures)
We don't have any roosters and egg production has been good. I don't have a great way of tracking which bird lays which egg, but we've been getting 7-9 eggs/day, which is actually a lot more than I was expecting. They have the occasional off day (3-5 eggs), usually the day after a big lay. No other chickens are missing feathers or have any similar spots.
They usually molt all together in the fall, so this is a little off cycle for us. Looking at her, I think she's probably being picked on? But are there any other skin conditions I should look for? My first worry was lice or mites, but I really didn't see anything on her. She was feisty and put up quite the fight when we grabbed her for the exam tonight.
We're going to the feed store tomorrow - I was going to see about grabbing some medication for her, but now I'm not sure that it's necessary. Thoughts?
