Older chickens going gray?

[MysteryChicken]

Yikes, I just always gave it to all of my hens. I had no idea it was specific to certain hens. So, if I have a flock with hens and Billy, what is the best feed you would recommend? I really can't separate their food sources.

An All Flock type feed, or Flock Raiser. It's high protein, & great for all ages, & genders. Just gotta be sure to have a calcium source like Oyster shells in a separate container, or feeder for the hens. They know how much they need, & regulate on their own.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Your hens look to me like they just have the feather sheaths stuck on some of their feathers. It's hard to tell for sure from the pictures because they blur when I try to zoom, but the shape looks like feather sheaths to me. If that's not the case and those are actual feathers that are white, then I would think aging for them. I've only had it happen to a few of my old hens, not all of them. My very eldest at 13 years old does not have any white feathers, but a broodmate of hers had a few.

The rooster is pretty typical of vitiligo in chickens. It is not well studied beyond a line of birds who were selectively bred to have it trigger very early on in life in order to reliably be able to study vitiligo. Some of what we know about vitiligo in chickens, we aren't sure whether it goes for all chickens with vitiligo or coincidentally has occurred within that studied line alongside it. What we do know is that it seems to be a polygenic trait, and that birds with it don't very often show outward signs of autoimmune issues, so even if he is as robust and healthy as always it could still be vitiligo. There are rare feather quality issues with it, sometimes roosters can become infertile, and vision loss and eventual blindness is fairly common in the birds from the selectively bred line I mentioned above, but again it is unknown if that's the same with the randomly occurring vitiligo you see in backyard flocks or coincidental with the line for studying. Other than that, the birds outwardly show no signs of issues beyond that they have lost pigment in some or all of their plumage. Basically, all it does is cause the immune system to attack the cells that produce pigment for their feathers.

 

[minaayindra]

An All Flock type feed, or Flock Raiser. It's high protein, & great for all ages, & genders. Just gotta be sure to have a calcium source like Oyster shells in a separate container, or feeder for the hens. They know how much they need, & regulate on their own.

Thanks, I'll give that a try!

 

[minaayindra]

Your hens look to me like they just have the feather sheaths stuck on some of their feathers. It's hard to tell for sure from the pictures because they blur when I try to zoom, but the shape looks like feather sheaths to me. If that's not the case and those are actual feathers that are white, then I would think aging for them. I've only had it happen to a few of my old hens, not all of them. My very eldest at 13 years old does not have any white feathers, but a broodmate of hers had a few.

The rooster is pretty typical of vitiligo in chickens. It is not well studied beyond a line of birds who were selectively bred to have it trigger very early on in life in order to reliably be able to study vitiligo. Some of what we know about vitiligo in chickens, we aren't sure whether it goes for all chickens with vitiligo or coincidentally has occurred within that studied line alongside it. What we do know is that it seems to be a polygenic trait, and that birds with it don't very often show outward signs of autoimmune issues, so even if he is as robust and healthy as always it could still be vitiligo. There are rare feather quality issues with it, sometimes roosters can become infertile, and vision loss and eventual blindness is fairly common in the birds from the selectively bred line I mentioned above, but again it is unknown if that's the same with the randomly occurring vitiligo you see in backyard flocks or coincidental with the line for studying. Other than that, the birds outwardly show no signs of issues beyond that they have lost pigment in some or all of their plumage. Basically, all it does is cause the immune system to attack the cells that produce pigment for their feathers.

Wow, that is good to know. The actual feathers are white, they aren't shafts. I can live, and so can he, with cosmetic changes as long as he is healthy. I haven't noticed any signs of vision loss, and infertility would actually be a good thing since I don't hatch out any eggs. I am impressed by your scientific knowledge of poultry diseases!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Wow, that is good to know. The actual feathers are white, they aren't shafts. I can live, and so can he, with cosmetic changes as long as he is healthy. I haven't noticed any signs of vision loss, and infertility would actually be a good thing since I don't hatch out any eggs. I am impressed by your scientific knowledge of poultry diseases!

That's likely a sign of the hens aging then, yes.

Yeah, as far as I have found on it, vitiligo is like 95% of the time just cosmetic with the occasional thing like a decline in feather quality associated with it in very few cases. Vision loss, if it were to occur in him, would occur over time and not immediately, so that's just something to look out for years down the line. Hopefully he's one that avoids that issue so that you don't have to worry about it too much! I have a friend and know of a few others who have had birds with vitiligo, though, and they have all led normal lives even after the loss of pigment associated with it.

And thanks! When bored, I tend to occupy myself by reading articles or books relating to the genetics of poultry. This just happened to be a topic that I read about not that long ago and remembered!

 

[minaayindra]

That's likely a sign of the hens aging then, yes.

Yeah, as far as I have found on it, vitiligo is like 95% of the time just cosmetic with the occasional thing like a decline in feather quality associated with it in very few cases. Vision loss, if it were to occur in him, would occur over time and not immediately, so that's just something to look out for years down the line. Hopefully he's one that avoids that issue so that you don't have to worry about it too much! I have a friend and know of a few others who have had birds with vitiligo, though, and they have all led normal lives even after the loss of pigment associated with it.

And thanks! When bored, I tend to occupy myself by reading articles or books relating to the genetics of poultry. This just happened to be a topic that I read about not that long ago and remembered!

Since you are a compulsive reader of highly valuable info, maybe you can answer the last thing the vet was unable to explain or treat. Billy developed an area on his throat where the feathers broke off and it was raw and bloody for a while. The vet tested his skin, tried looking everything up, and then blamed it on my hen who likes to pick on him. I was beginning to think so too, although I'd never seen her come anywhere close to his neck, just his tail and feet. We sprayed it with BluKote over and over to keep it clean and discourage any picking- the feather shafts were all broken off. It occured spontaneously, was mild at first, got really bad, and has now resolved. Any ideas? Could that have been related to vitiligo?

 

[MysteryChicken]

Thanks, I'll give that a try!

You're welcome.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Since you are a compulsive reader of highly valuable info, maybe you can answer the last thing the vet was unable to explain or treat. Billy developed an area on his throat where the feathers broke off and it was raw and bloody for a while. The vet tested his skin, tried looking everything up, and then blamed it on my hen who likes to pick on him. I was beginning to think so too, although I'd never seen her come anywhere close to his neck, just his tail and feet. We sprayed it with BluKote over and over to keep it clean and discourage any picking- the feather shafts were all broken off. It occured spontaneously, was mild at first, got really bad, and has now resolved. Any ideas? Could that have been related to vitiligo?

Apologies, I ran out to close up my coops for the night before you posted and just now got back in and back to my computer!

Did you happen to take any pictures of the area when this was happening? That does, indeed, sound like it could be feather picking. Had you changed anything about your setup between when it was still occurring and when it stopped? New things for them to peck or climb on? Any change in feed, increase in treats, change in how much they free-ranged, etc.? A bird who feather-picks usually is either bored or deficient in something, which means any kind of change could have given the feather-picker a reason to stop. Sometimes a bird who is molting can become a feather-picker as well, however, as they crave protein to help regrow those feathers.

I don't think that it would be the vitiligo at that point, unless this was during the time where he's had depigmentation. The feather quality issues associated with vitiligo occur along with the characteristic depigmentation as the feathers regrow, at least from my understanding.

 

[BDutch]

She is gorgeous, and so "mature!" Do you get these advanced ages with any of your other hens?

I started keeping Dutch bantams in 2014. I had 3 young pullets and one cockerel at the end of the summer, but I also had a few chicks who died.

I couldn’t keep the cockerel in spring because he made too much noise early mornings. I live in a town. I gave him away after he fertilised a number of eggs. I kept 3 pullets from that hatch. Gave away the cockerels.

A few years after another hatch I sold one of the 2014 pullets (now a broody hen) together with two young cockerels because I was getting too many chickens.

A few years later I had a few casualties amongst my Dutch. One Dutch from 2014 disappeared one day (probably a bird of prey). The next year a hen from 2015 was killed by a fox.

So I have still 3 oldies. None of the Dutch died of health issues.
2 hens of another Bantam breed I had, both died with health issues. So yes, I believe the Dutch in my country where Dutch a not a rare breed, are a strong breed with long lives and without health issues.

 

[BDutch]

A bird who feather-picks usually is either bored or deficient in something,

Often a too crowded accommodation's is the cause of stress and feather pecking.
In one of the articles in the learning center are guidelines for the numbers you can keep in a coop and run, and the roost space they need to keep them happuly and healthy (average).