Missing feathers and red skin on chest/belly of hen

[SHP]

I posted this to a semi-recent thread, but might not be active anymore, so thought I'd post here for help!

Not sure what's going on with one of our hens, noticed a difference yesterday! Her feathers have been thin on her chest for a little while as I can see her skin when her crop is full. Figured she's molting slowly.


She's eating and drinking fine, enough energy to give me a heck of a time catching her to check on her , she seems to be acting pretty normal otherwise. She was given to us in June and I don't know how old she is.


she has always laid oddly shaped eggs with thin shells despite the oyster shell available.


I wanted a closer look when I noticed that today her skin was showing red through the thin feathers. When I turned her over I could see that her feathers are missing across her belly and there's more redness. Sorry the pic isn't great, hard to hold her and take the pick myself, couldn't spread her feathers too.


No mites or lice that I can see around her vent, belly, wings, etc. Not broody, lays almost every day.


Any thoughts? Does this happen sometimes? Should I be concerned?

 

[azygous]

Yes, this happens a lot.

Where does this hen like to sleep? On the floor or does she roost on a perch? If she sleeps on the floor, what is the bedding? Does she sleep in accumulated poop?

If she roosts on a perch, what does the perch look like? Rough lumber? What diameter is it? What is the shape, round or flat?

Treatment would be Vetericyn wound spray twice a day until she heals, but depending on where she sleeps, modifications may be necessary to prevent this becoming a chronic condition.

Last, what is your city, state, and country? We get important clues from location that can help us diagnose problems with your chickens.

 

[SHP]

Hi! Thanks for responding!

She has been sleeping on the floor, we have a small coop and I put in hinged roosting bars, but when it was very cold a few weeks ago, they were staying on the floor anyways, so I folded up the roosts and lowered the heat lamp so they'd fare better through the weeks of intense cold. I have had the bars back down from time to time (if I remember to lower them again after I've gone in). Sometimes she perches on the bar across the front of the nesting boxes if I forget.

Bedding is straw, deep bedding and I typically add a fresh layer every week, sometimes more often if it's getting wet and muddy besides poop.

The perches are made of 2x6s split down the middle, so roughly 2x3s, flat boards. The perch on the nesting boxes is a 1x1 board.

We live in Creston, BC, Canada. It's fairly temperate here, and even in winter there's moisture in the air, so even though it doesn't get nearly as cold by the mercury as other places we've lived, it can be a biting cold, but these last 3 weeks or so have been very nice! Lots of sunny days above 0, nights haven't dipped below -6 in quite a while now!

 

[azygous]

Are the roosting bars sanded and smooth or are they rough milled and unfinished? Rough surfaces can cause skin irritation and even a more serious condition called breast blistering.

But sleeping on the floor in bedding mixed with composting poop is most likely the cause of her skin irritation. Ammonia is a by-product of decomposing poop, and it will irritate and burn skin, which sets her up for this next one. The bacteria that she is coming into direct contact with will take advantage of the inflamed skin and develop into a staph infection.

Somehow, you need to train her to use the perch to sleep on, after you make sure it's smooth and isn't also a source of skin irritation. It's a major hassle to get a chicken to sleep where you want her to and give up a habit that she no doubt is very attached to. But it's necessary unless you're prepared for chronic skin inflammation and much worse.

The way I correct bad sleeping habits is to come at it from two directions. One is to block off the favorite sleeping spot. Make it something that she won't find an even more attractive thing to sleep on. If it's the perch in front of the nest boxes, block it. She will no doubt select another spot that's not legal, and you will bust her for it, and each subsequent attempt. In other words, you and your hen are going to have yourselves a little war over this. Prepare accordingly.

Lastly, you will need to check each night after dark and move her to the perch. Why after dark? Because after you move her to the perch, you then leave her in the dark, and she can't see to hop down and run back to her illicit spot. Retraining a chicken to ditch an old habit and develop a new one will take between one and three weeks.

You can do this! Remember, you are smarter than a chicken. You are, aren't you?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Oh, @azygous! Lol I first reacted with the "funny" emoji, then went back and chose "informative." You did make me laugh at the end though. I've gotten into some battles with chickrns before! They are not smarter than me, but sometimes it feels like they can out-stubborn me!

 

[SHP]

@azythabks for this, we'll get it sorted out!

@BigBlueHen53 'out-stubborn' seems fitting!

 

[Kriscam]

I discovered this patch last night on our sweetest girl. She's not broody, not molting, sleeps on a smooth perch, all systems normal. I can't see any parasites on her body. Could this be a staph infection of some kind? It looks painful. Can/should I treat her skin with something?

 

[azygous]

View attachment 3179392
I discovered this patch last night on our sweetest girl. She's not broody, not molting, sleeps on a smooth perch, all systems normal. I can't see any parasites on her body. Could this be a staph infection of some kind? It looks painful. Can/should I treat her skin with something?

Get Vetericyn wound spray. Use it three or four times a day on the red skin.

Further issues, start your own thread to get better responses.

 

[Kriscam]

Get Vetericyn wound spray. Use it three or four times a day on the red skin.

Further issues, start your own thread to get better responses.

I have some of that and will give it a try. I thought I would get better advice from a related thread already started, but will take your advice in the future. Thank you.

 

[KYChick13]

Does tractor supply have vetericyn?