MITES ?? CHICK WITH RAW BUTT

fan101

In the Brooder
11 Years
Apr 27, 2008
10
0
22
I have 2 chicks that are loosing their feathers on their butt - and i noticed the other chicks pecking at
the site- and now on 1 of them it has moved up their butt to around their tail feather/back area and she
is even picking at the area herself -
could this be mice or lice ?

I lost my roo to something like this few weeks ago -the girls were picking at him so bad his whole butt
was raw and bleeding - we sepertated him out and tried to treat him but he still didnt make it -

any advise would be greatly appreciated
 
Check their bums, and wingpits to see if there's anything crawling around in there.
If there is, then dust with Sevin 5% dust.
If not, their buddies are picking...spray with WoundKote/BluKote to hide the bright red skin and to keep infection away.
 
Quote:
This sounds suspiciously like text-book case cannibalism - how it starts and escalates to death very quickly.

I would segregate the ones you see are instigators - those with blood on their beaks, etc. It's difficult to stop once it starts. It's a serious threat to the life of your flock and if you don't nip it in the bud you could very easily lose all of them to it. Feather pulling and vent picking are classic pre-indications of a blood-letting episode you will find to be more traumatic than you'd ever think inaction is worth.
 
It sounds like cannibalism to me, too. Once blood is drawn, it can go downhill in a hurry. You're going to have potentially different causes in chicks and adults.

I would be looking at over-crowding, what you are feeding, whether you're mixing more aggressive breeds with very passive breeds and for chicks, whether you are using a white bulb, instead of a red bulb for heat.

Chicks often peck at bits of droppings that stick to the vent area. That may have started the problem and it grew, from there. How old are the chicks? How much room do they have in the brooder? What are you feeding? What is their lighting like? Do you keep food and water out all the time? What breeds are you raising?

I would look at those things for your adults, also.
 

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