Mites/Lice...or Just Molting?

[Wyorp Rock]

Tuna in water. You would want to give it as a treat.

 

[CSAchook]

I have been going through a similar issues with a cochin pullet. She had suddenly lost a lot of neck feathers and I couldn't figure out if it was from the lice infestation I had recently treated her for OR if she was molting OR if someone was pulling out her feathers. What I have been doing to monitor her is bring her inside for a few minutes each night for an "inspection." I check her vent to make sure all the bugs are gone, very carefully check the bald areas to make sure her feathers are coming back in nicely (they are!) and look for any evidence of pecking or feather pulling (I did find one recent peck/bite wound but it is healing well now). After her wellness check, I give her a treat like a small spoonful of tuna, a few pieces of boiled egg or some meal worms. Then she goes back onto her roost in the coop.

I am pretty certain now that she is molting, but I am keeping up with the wellness checks to make sure nothing changes for the worse. It stops me from worrying too much, I enjoy getting to give her a few snuggles and she loves getting a little snack all her own. Win, win, win!

Hope this example helps and that your girl is back to her old self very soon!!!!

 

[JerryR708]

My chickens were moulting about a month ago, about 2 months before their first year after hatch. Mine seemed to start moulting near the shortest daylight hours of the year and stopped laying eggs for about 3 weeks. One particular breed was losing only the feathers on the neck, but leaving short quills. The other breeds were losing just a little bit of feathers evenly without showing any skin. The feathers all started growing back after a little over a week with glossy, shiny and beautiful thick feathers. Makes me wonder why they would do that when it was freezing cold out. I'm glad they were thinking and scheduled winter when egg production is slower.

 

[ColoradoSLV]

Looked at the birds this morning.

The RI Red seems to be her usual, perky self, I'll spray the other birds this afternoon, and will provide the tuna-in-water as a treat...and ALL of them never get enough mealworms, scratch grains, or whatever - at least, according to them!

I like the idea of (daily? weekly?) wellness checks. I'd been doing them only occasionally but will increase their frequency.

(The Barnevelder has some of the wax-covered feathers showing, the waxiness is showing on the other three, but I agree with the preventative measures mentioned here.)

Thanks - and I hope someone else can benefit from the info!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Looked at the birds this morning.

The RI Red seems to be her usual, perky self, I'll spray the other birds this afternoon, and will provide the tuna-in-water as a treat...and ALL of them never get enough mealworms, scratch grains, or whatever - at least, according to them!

I like the idea of (daily? weekly?) wellness checks. I'd been doing them only occasionally but will increase their frequency.

(The Barnevelder has some of the wax-covered feathers showing, the waxiness is showing on the other three, but I agree with the preventative measures mentioned here.)

Thanks - and I hope someone else can benefit from the info!

Try to limit your treats to no more than 5-10% of their daily intake. A lot depends on the protein % of what your regular feed is. Anything you feed in addition to a balanced poultry feed dilutes the daily protein/nutritional content.

Wax covered looking feathers - what you are seeing is the protective keratin sheath of the new feathers coming in. As the feathers continue to grow, it will start to peel and the birds will preen to remove that sheath.

I hope all goes well for you, please keep us posted.

 

[ColoradoSLV]

Will do.

 

[ColoradoSLV]

Hi.

The birds in general are doing OK. The RIR in question seems to have lost a few more feathers, but the ones on her neck are coming in. She got a second dusting of the permethrin; the other three birds got their first. (All the dustings have been mild as there is no evidence of mites or lice...)

I did notice that many of her wing feathers are down to the 'shaft' (the center part), but she's singing the egg song whether or not an egg has been laid!

ba-KAWK!!!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm glad to hear she is still doing o.k.!

 

[ColoradoSLV]

I'm not sure if she (the RIR I've been watching) has taken a turn for the worse or not.

I've been applying the permethrin-based powder to her, to the other chickens and to the coop at the recommended 7-14 day intervals, but I've noticed her increasing baldness and that her feathers seem to be 'cut'/unnaturally truncated.

The guy at the local coop seemed knowledgeable and thought it was probably lice, so I purchased the Ivermectrin liquid for use in 4-5 days. (I'd sprayed her with Manna Pro's 'Poultry Protector' yesterday morning, but without a poultry vet in the area, I'm kinda flying by the seat of my pants.)

She sometimes stands off to herself, sometimes gets 'fluffed out' as if she's cold, but generally has the chicken-like behaviors I see in the other three. I'll check on all the birds again in the morning - after setting the clocks ahead tonight!

There sure is a LOT to learn about chickens...and I'm still learning!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can you post some photos of her?

Feather loss can be due to lice/mites, feather picking, molting and mating.

If she has increasing baldness, someone may be plucking her feathers out or the rooster may be overmating her.

Sometimes a bird will isolate themselves when they are not feeling well. If you have a vet that can perform a fecal float, it's not a bad idea to take a fresh poop sample in for testing.
I agree - so much to learn about chickens - a lifetime's worth. It's fun though