Pale scabby comb and losing feathers

[rusty acres]

This afternoon I noticed one of my Bielefelders hanging back from the others. Also I'd been noticing a lot of feathers in the roost when I'd clean it out for the last several days. When I picked her up, I noticed her comb looks very pale, bumpy, and scabby, and she is losing tons of feathers from her body (chest, butt, back). Some of the other hens have pale spots on their combs but nothing like hers. And no one else is losing feathers like her. She's not even a year old yet. Any ideas what's going on? I've been feeding a feather fixer feed with 18% protein for a while, because I have ISA Browns and read they require extra protein.

 

[coach723]

That looks like it may be fowl pox, it's a virus transmitted by mosquito's. Most of the time, with dry pox, it runs it's course in a few weeks and they do fine. There is a wet form which forms lesions in the mouth and throat, that one is more serious, but not as common. There is no effective treatment other than supportive care and boosting their immune system. If any of the lesions become nasty you can dab a bit of iodine on them, but mostly they are best left alone, the scabs can spread the virus to other birds. Once they've recovered they should be resistant to it.
http://hoeggerfarmyard.com/how-to-easily-diagnose-and-treat-fowl-pox/
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/fowl-pox-prevention-treatmen/

 

[rusty acres]

That looks like it may be fowl pox, it's a virus transmitted by mosquito's. Most of the time, with dry pox, it runs it's course in a few weeks and they do fine. There is a wet form which forms lesions in the mouth and throat, that one is more serious, but not as common. There is no effective treatment other than supportive care and boosting their immune system. If any of the lesions become nasty you can dab a bit of iodine on them, but mostly they are best left alone, the scabs can spread the virus to other birds. Once they've recovered they should be resistant to it.
http://hoeggerfarmyard.com/how-to-easily-diagnose-and-treat-fowl-pox/
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/fowl-pox-prevention-treatmen/

Thank you so much! We live in Central Florida, it's been raining like non-stop and there are no shortage of mosquitoes. I wonder why she's shedding so many feathers. Maybe from being sick?

 

[coach723]

She also could be going into molt, she's young but it's not unheard of, and illness can sometimes trigger it. Look for pin feathers coming in which would indicate molt. Also give her a good going over for lice/mites. They will often turn up on a bird that's ill with something else. http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification/
I put fans in the eaves in my coop (12 volt, purchased at an RV store, on battery charged by solar panels) so the air moves over the roosts at night when they are stationary, which is when they are most likely to get bit, it has cut down on my incidence of pox immensely. You can also put window screen over any windows or ventilation holes , just add it over the hardware cloth/wire, to help keep them out. You can also take a square/rectangle of it and cut it so it hangs in strips over your coop door, so the birds can still go in and out, but the mosquitos will have a harder time.

 

[rusty acres]

She also could be going into molt, she's young but it's not unheard of, and illness can sometimes trigger it. Look for pin feathers coming in which would indicate molt. Also give her a good going over for lice/mites. They will often turn up on a bird that's ill with something else. http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification/
I put fans in the eaves in my coop (12 volt, purchased at an RV store, on battery charged by solar panels) so the air moves over the roosts at night when they are stationary, which is when they are most likely to get bit, it has cut down on my incidence of pox immensely. You can also put window screen over any windows or ventilation holes , just add it over the hardware cloth/wire, to help keep them out. You can also take a square/rectangle of it and cut it so it hangs in strips over your coop door, so the birds can still go in and out, but the mosquitos will have a harder time.

She definitely has pin feathers coming in, so could be an early molt like you said. She looks awful, poor girl! Lice has been a problem with my flock this past spring, but I didn't see any evidence of lice on her. I gave her a dose of Nutri-drench and added it to the flock's water as well. I like the idea of adding window screen to keep out the mosquitoes- they love to hang out in the roost. Thanks for your help!