missing feathers, frantic dirt bathing

[clumberfam]

Not sure if this is the place to post this or not. Although we do have a few hens I know virtually nothing about them. they're about 2 years old now and give us eggs (on layer feed, I know at least that much). About a year ago they started losing feathers and some are quite bald. Some, on the other hand, are fully feathered and look great! I've never seen them picking at one another and feed is readily available 24/7. Plenty water and a 'flock block' every month as a supplement and to alleviate some of the boredom. They are housed in a 24 x 8 run alongside my peafowl and do get some of the cat food the peas eat. Their interior space has a three level roost and is approximately 4 x 10. Feed is in there, water is outside. They dig holes (assuming out of boredom but maybe not - looking for bugs??) They also get vegetable and bread scraps as treats and the occasional cabbage or broccoli. Most of the missing feathers are on the back by the tail and underneath, some on the neck in front but at least two of them (there are 8 altogether) are nearly naked.

I had read that wood ash makes an appropriate dust bath and we have a fire pit that gets regular use so have dumped the wood ash into two of the holes they've dug. They were happy to dust themselves with it and continue to do so with dug up dirt. I don't see anything that looks like mites - would they be visible? not even sure what I'm looking for there. Bedding is wood shavings from TS.

I can't really let them out of the pen to wander because we have hawks and eagles that would love a tasty chicken snack. They don't seem to be distressed at all, just naked....

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Pictures would help. It’s possible that they are eating each other’s feathers due to a lack of protein in their diets. I would switch them to a grower, flock raiser, or all flock feed, as those types of feed have a better amount of protein than layer. Adding oyster shell on the side will give them the needed amount of calcium.

Mites/lice are definitely not always visible, so those could also be the culprit. Permethrin spray or permethrin dust treats both mites and lice.

It’s also possible your hens are just molting. In that case, the higher protein feed would still be beneficial.

 

[tripletfeb]

Do you have a rooster in with them? Sounds like it's either damage from a rooster or you have a feather picker. I would try taking away all treats and giving them a higher protein feed. Like an all flock that is 20% protein

 

[The Chick Addict]

Not sure if this is the place to post this or not. Although we do have a few hens I know virtually nothing about them. they're about 2 years old now and give us eggs (on layer feed, I know at least that much). About a year ago they started losing feathers and some are quite bald. Some, on the other hand, are fully feathered and look great! I've never seen them picking at one another and feed is readily available 24/7. Plenty water and a 'flock block' every month as a supplement and to alleviate some of the boredom. They are housed in a 24 x 8 run alongside my peafowl and do get some of the cat food the peas eat. Their interior space has a three level roost and is approximately 4 x 10. Feed is in there, water is outside. They dig holes (assuming out of boredom but maybe not - looking for bugs??) They also get vegetable and bread scraps as treats and the occasional cabbage or broccoli. Most of the missing feathers are on the back by the tail and underneath, some on the neck in front but at least two of them (there are 8 altogether) are nearly naked.

I had read that wood ash makes an appropriate dust bath and we have a fire pit that gets regular use so have dumped the wood ash into two of the holes they've dug. They were happy to dust themselves with it and continue to do so with dug up dirt. I don't see anything that looks like mites - would they be visible? not even sure what I'm looking for there. Bedding is wood shavings from TS.

I can't really let them out of the pen to wander because we have hawks and eagles that would love a tasty chicken snack. They don't seem to be distressed at all, just naked....

Do you have any roosters? That can be a cause for missing feathers. Mites can be hard to see if you are looking at the chicken from the ground. Pick up some of them and move around their feathers to look closely.

Chickens love to dustbathe, and sand, dust, and dirt are some of their favorites so it is natural for them to do this. You are doing a great job in giving them care.

 

[clumberfam]

we don't have a rooster. They do get the all-flock interspersed with their regular feed but they don't really seem to be a fan of it. The flock block hopefully provides interest as well as some extra grain. Tried regular scratch grains...they were not overly impressed.

 

[tripletfeb]

we don't have a rooster. They do get the all-flock interspersed with their regular feed but they don't really seem to be a fan of it. The flock block hopefully provides interest as well as some extra grain. Tried regular scratch grains...they were not overly impressed.

I would stop feeding them all the extra stuff. Just stick with their food, you are diluting the food's protein by giving them all the extras

 

[Acre4Me]

While it could be a molt, you mention it started a year ago, so that isn’t likely the cause.

You mention that you have looked for mites/lice. Inspect their vent areas, around their eyes and under wings. Check the base of feathers in these areas for evidence of larvae, eggs or adults. See if their leg scales are lifted- this is an indication of scaly leg mites -treatment is oil applied to legs to suffocate the mites. Easy to manage mites/lice with permethrin 2x about 7-10 days apart.

Feed: I agree that you should quit any treats and sim for a protein bump. You can keep them on layer and add protein additionally. This can be dry cat food, boiled/baked meat, fish flake food, catfish food. But salt content can be a problem, so any of these things should be low salt (no Chinese takeout leftovers, for example) and used as supplement not as main feed. Supplement 1x per day.

Alternately, buy grower feed, chick feed, all flock -poultry feed that is higher protein. You will need to supplement calcium with these options, so add s bowl of oyster shell.

Protein is important for feather regrow to as feathers are mostly protein. This is why there can be feather picking in a flock if their protein requirements are not met.

And, if you haven’t done this already, put out two feeders in different locations. This minimizes any bullying away from the feed.