New hens look HORRIBLE!!!

[carolina chicky]

We bought 2 buff hens last night at an auction and got them home to discover that they were missing all their back feathers and they stink really bad. We didn't notice this when we bid on them. We are scared to put them in with the others. They act completely normal, pecking around, hopping, etc. but they just look horrible and smell horrible. Any ideas?

 

[tulie13]

Missing back feathers can indicate that a rooster was getting "excessively friendly" with them. It may be nothing to worry about, BUT it's a good idea to quarantine ANY new arrivals no matter how healthy they look!!!

They need to be checked for lice/mites and observed for some period of time before you chance killing your entire flock by introducing newbies!!!

 

[faykokoWV]

I bought one like this myself. she was so poor looking her comb was pinkish grey. she smelled awful and had diarrhea. I only bought her because I felt sorry for her. They had duct taped her legs together to bring her to the sale

I'm guessing like mine, they were just not taken care of well. Over crowded, poor feed, possibly picked on by others, possibly went broody so the owner culled.... who knows.


What I did was put her in an isolation pen (they recommend 30 days i think) I took the risk and only kept her there for 1 week.
After that one week she looked like a different chicken. Feathers shiney, comb nice and red, normal poo.

I would get them away from your other chickens. Feed them well, allow some foraging if possible. Maybe some vitamins?

 

[Chickenaddict]

You really need to quarentine new birds especially if they are in poor condition. You can also get rid of the smell by bathing them with just plain old baby shampoo, then blow dry them. Keep them in quarentine for at least 2 weeks (i go the full 30 days) I would also treat them for mites after baths cause chances are they have them. Give them bolied eggs or scrambled along with good feed and maybe a little Apple cider vinegar (organic) in their water

 

[lotzahenz]

OH, PLEASE be careful!!! A smelly chicken is often a sick chicken, so this poor dear will need to be isolated for who knows how long. If you do a search on here and read on chicken diseases, you wll find lots of helpful info. A very healthy looking chicken can also be a very sick chicken, in that it is a carrier and not yet showing signs of illness. Then your flock will die off, one by one and you will find yourself needing to cull them all. Read and watch Purple Chicken's ordeal and you will realize how serious it can be. I wish you luck, and hopefully your bird is just in poor condition.

HenZ