MOLTING? I find this to NOT be true

[krazeepolack]

My birds feather loss problem has been going on literally, for MONTHS!~ I personally can NOT agree w/the MOLTING answer everyone seems to be offering. This has been happening to my chickens since prior to Spring of this year!

Are the majority of us BYC folk "rookies" when it comes to this problem? Where are the VETERAN ranchers answers that know about this? I have tried any/everything I can think of, short of super gluing the feathers back on . NADA! NOTHING! ZILCH! Where are the PRO'S answers? Surely I'm not the only one out here w/bald chickens!! WAH! HELP!

My birds are approaching 2 years old now. (August) This is the first issue involving nude chickens. Well, almost nude. Someone out there must have a DEFINITIVE answer!! How & where do we find you?

I posted this question

approximately a month ago, & the only answers I read are MOLT, molt, molt! In my personal opinion, I have to DIS-agree w/this specific answer! Any takers on a challenge reply??

 

[Tommy12241]

I dont think its molting. Its either mites or feather picking. In the case of mites you need to look very closely for little itty bitty bugs crawling around. This can be treated with a product called seven dust. It works very well. If its feather picking its a behavioral thing. This page has some info on it (http://www.multiscope.com/hotspot/featherpicking.htm) Good luck and let me know how things go

 

[dawg53]

It very well could be lice/mites. Here's a link to help you identify them if your birds have them.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ig140
http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0018.html

 

[speckledhen]

There are individual birds who do take literally months to fully finish molting. I've had one or two myself. My late BR Lexie comes to mind. She was bare on her butt and back and wing tops for maybe three or four months, quite the pitiful sight. Nothing we fed her could speed up the process.

However, if it's an entire group of them, I'd either think nutrition is lacking for them to properly get over the molt or you have a lice/mite issue.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

What precisely are you feeding your birds? Treats and everything.

It wouldn't hurt to give them a close visual inspection for bugs. Particularly around their vent areas, under their wings, and on the tops of their heads.