Missing and damaged feathers

[Chickens :)]

Thank you I will try that. I can't get the photo to load, sorry about that. Thank you all sooooo much for helping me out.

 

[BennieAnTheJets]

I don't know Chickens , if I were you I may still wait and see if your bird has a long molt, as the other forum members said

hard to see the skin in your photo - see how Peggy Sue's feather stubs did not come out but look tan and dirty, as if something was on them that was somehow chewing them up?

her quills did not come out, like I think a regular molt should do - maybe your bird has the same thing, but maybe not

my vet prescribed SMZ-TMP oral suspension - a pink gue - and I gave her a syringe into the beak twice a day, I think - maybe it was once a day - I think the stuff is called sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim - it's s sulfa drug - I would not medicate unless I have to - it can harm them, too, I think, their liver and kidneys

I would keep an eye on her and keep her warm if you have cold weather and she is bald in spots and I would wait to see if she re-grows the feathers on her own - I think often, we can tell when something is wrong after a while - if I still think that after a months or so, I would go to the vet and maybe ask about this drug

my vet said they give it to rabbits and guinea pigs and other critters, too, so it may be common

 

[BennieAnTheJets]

PS: if you think you would like to try this drug and have limited resources, I would call ahead and ask if the vet you are planning to see does use this drug - if they usually use it, they would be more familiar with it and more likely to try it, I think - I would say that I would like to ask about this drug and if they know if the vet has heard of it or uses it - we have many vets around here and I have been to five different clinics with the guineas - each person/clinic has a different approach, usually their own familiar way of doing things - maybe you don't have that many vets around or you have a favorite already - just some ideas

 

[Wyorp Rock]

hen that is just over 4 years old

I think hers is more like the feathers are not growing back at all.

Do you have a rooster?
Do you see her actively dust bathing and preening?
Check her over for any lice/mites.
The feathers over all do look worn and nipped, but I believe you mentioned that she is still laying eggs, if so, then she is not yet molting.

The wing feathers look like they are broken, so those will not grow back in until she goes through a molt. Broken feathers/feather damage can be from mating, other chickens picking/nipping at them, being worn off getting into/out of nesting boxes, etc.

None of the feathers will be replaced until she goes through her molt, but you may want to give her a boost will some poultry vitamins and extra protein.

If she is not dusting bathing or preening like she should, it won't hurt to treat her with a permethrin based poultry dust or spray.

 

[Chic Momma]

I'm pretty new to the chicken world and have a serious problem. I noticed one of my hens looked ruffled and missing a few feathers on her back maybe a week or so ago. I figured the rooster was getting a little ruff. I also wondered if the hound puppy got ahold of her when she was chasing them, but I don't think so. More feathers missing across her back then yesterday she was lethargic and I could see the quills at the top of her wings. Under her wing looked like a bloody gash. Fresh blood started dripping from the wound. Around the wound looked dry and crusty. The other wing looked much the same but not bleeding. She is still eating and hanging with the her crew but doesn't move as fast. I just noticed 2 more chicks show some ruffed or missing feathers on their backs. This looks much like the pictures here. It's under the wings that looks really bad. Mites? I do sprinkle DE in the coop and they dust in the sand? This is the 1st problem I've had and not sure what to do.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm pretty new to the chicken world and have a serious problem. I noticed one of my hens looked ruffled and missing a few feathers on her back maybe a week or so ago. I figured the rooster was getting a little ruff. I also wondered if the hound puppy got ahold of her when she was chasing them, but I don't think so. More feathers missing across her back then yesterday she was lethargic and I could see the quills at the top of her wings. Under her wing looked like a bloody gash. Fresh blood started dripping from the wound. Around the wound looked dry and crusty. The other wing looked much the same but not bleeding. She is still eating and hanging with the her crew but doesn't move as fast. I just noticed 2 more chicks show some ruffed or missing feathers on their backs. This looks much like the pictures here. It's under the wings that looks really bad. Mites? I do sprinkle DE in the coop and they dust in the sand? This is the 1st problem I've had and not sure what to do.

Hi @Chic Momma Welcome to BYC

Can you post some photos of your hen with the damage, as well as the rooster and his spurs

It can be quite common for a hen to become injured/wounded under/around the wings from mating. Rooster spurs and nails can slice them up.

You will want to gather your girl up and really inspect her wounds. Flush them with saline, chlorhexidine or diluted betadine. Apply some triple antibiotic ointment. Ideally if it's due to the rooster, then separating him from the girls may be best. So they can have a rest and heal. If you don't want to separate him, separate the wounded girl until she heals - if he continues to mate her, then it will just do more damage and spurs/nails can also introduce bacteria into a wound causing infection.

Chickens will dust bathe to help keep mite/lice loads down, but it's always a good idea to inspect them regularly for the little critters. Look under the wings and around the vent. For mites, do a night time inspection, take a paper towel and rub it along the roosting bar to see if it comes red, mites come out at night, so a visual inspection of your chicken's skin at that time would be in order as well.

 

[BennieAnTheJets]

ok, after reading Wyorp Rock's post for you, I am changing my opinion: if another chicken expert thinks this is not a regular molt, I would go to a vet who can prescribe the sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim SMZ-TMP as soon as convenient

your hen's feathers do look a lot like Peggy Sue's and while this could be due to many different things, I feel it would be worth a try to put her on the same drug that cleared us up

Peggy Sue was getting worse and worse - first one little bald spot on the wing then the other wing, then the body - and her other feathers also looked like your hen's: beaten up and breaking down and dull

I really through the antibiotic was a crazy thing to try since I thought this would be due to parasites or something like that, not bacteria, but I did what the vet said and she got the nicest, brightest, shiniest feathers growing back within a week - it was like a miracle - so, not sure what bacterial infection can cause this feather look, but the SMZ-TMP hit something that knocked it down for us

and it was not expensive or difficult, except for the vet visit, of course

here is the result we had after about 7 days and a photo of her now (on the edge of our compost pile):