Picked Raw

[countrygirl57]

One of my smaller hens has the top of her wing picked raw. I thought the other hens were doing this, but last night i separated her, & this morning it's twice as bad. So she must be doing this to herself.

I put stop pick on last night & again this morning. They are all losing some feathers, so I guess they are starting to molt. Should I bandage this?

The injury is were all the wing feathers join & all the tops are exposed. I guess it is itchy, I don't know. Please any suggestions.

 

[dawg53]

I recommend you visually inspect her closely for lice/mites, especially around the vent area. You can put some neosporin (without pain reliever) on the wound, no need to bandage it.

 

[emys]

If they are picking at themselves it is usually mites or lice. Probably mites. The sparrows and wild birds can carry them to your flock and they are very hard to see.

 

[countrygirl57]

Thanks I am surrounded with large trees that the hens spend a lot of time under scratching. These trees are home to lots of wild birds. I use DE all the time , I thought that would take care of any mites or lice.

 

[emys]

Unless you have a very large quantity of DE under the tree that the bugs would be exposed to prior to your chickens getting there, I doubt it would help in your situation.

In your situation I think you should just treat for mites 2x a year. You might also try a 35 gallon tub or two with peat moss and mite dust in it. Then your birds could dust those buggers off themselves whenever they needed to. (Just cover the bins if left under the tree on a rainy day)

 

[dawg53]

If you discovered that they have lice/mites, use sevin dust. You'll need to dust their house, roosts and nests. Redust everything in 10 days including your chickens.