Please help me identify what is wrong w/ my hen's skin!

[Cynthia707]

Hello,

This is Prinny (named after Prince, as she was born the day he died.) She is a Black Australorp. I started noticing some feather loss around her head about six months ago, but it seemed minor so I let it go. Then a couple months ago, I noticed that her crop area was bald as well as both thighs on either side of her vent (perfectly symmetrical.) As you can see, those three areas are very red and scaly now. In the past few weeks, she also started to lose feathers on her neck area and near her saddle/tail feathers. I am posting photos of all five areas. The vet has ruled out mites or another pest as the cause, and we are 99% sure it's not due to feather-picking. Other things to know:

She is eating and drinking and laying as usual (she laid today in fact)
She is not acting strangely/differently
Her weight is stable
None of the other hens are showing any sign of this

The vet said it could maybe be an endrocrine issue or some kind of eczema. I had her on silvadene cream for a month but it didn't do anything as far as I can tell. I've also been giving her flax seed and sardines for Omega 3. No change, though she loves them. I'm okay leaving her untreated as long as she is not suffering, but you know how chickens are good at hiding these things! Any insights would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Eggcessive]

Are you certain that the other hens are not pecking her feathers out? You may not notice that they can peck at each other after getting on the roost at dusk, or early the next morning. Have you checked for lice and mites? Some mites only come on at night, and then remain in the cracks and crevices of the coop during the day. Here is some info on what to look for in mites and lice:
https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8162.pdf

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification/

 

[Cynthia707]

Are you certain that the other hens are not pecking her feathers out? You may not notice that they can peck at each other after getting on the roost at dusk, or early the next morning. Have you checked for lice and mites? Some mites only come on at night, and then remain in the cracks and crevices of the coop during the day. Here is some info on what to look for in mites and lice:
https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8162.pdf

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification/

Thsnj

Are you certain that the other hens are not pecking her feathers out? You may not notice that they can peck at each other after getting on the roost at dusk, or early the next morning. Have you checked for lice and mites? Some mites only come on at night, and then remain in the cracks and crevices of the coop during the day. Here is some info on what to look for in mites and lice:
https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8162.pdf

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification/

Thank you for replying. I have separated her into a cage in the garage away from the other hens for one week, and there was no change. I’m almost positive it’s not feather picking, as the feathers are completely out and the follicles are basically now non-existent. I’ve had feather-pickers before and they always have broken feathers.

As for pests, the vet ruled it out and all other hens are clear (she shares a coop with 6 others), but I’ll read those links again.

Thanks.

 

[Eggcessive]

I haven’t had experience with depluming or feather mites, but I would do some research on them. They cannot be seen with the naked eye, but burrow into feather shafts. It may or may not be the problem. Ivermectin pour on and sulfur powder are suggested treatments. Here is some reading:
https://poultrykeeper.com/external-problems/depluming-mites/

https://wagwalking.com/bird/condition/depluming-scabies

 

[peeper89]

noticing some feather loss around her head about six months ago

I noticed that her crop area was bald as well as both thighs on either side of her vent (perfectly symmetrical.)

The vet has ruled out mites or another pest as the cause, and we are 99% sure it's not due to feather-picking

u got a roo?
some of it got 2 be pickin she cant pick feather from back of head can she
do she itchy or scratch alot

 

[Cynthia707]

No rooster and no itchiness.

 

[Mosey2003]

The rest of her feathers look rather chewed up, I'd revisit the mites that only come out at night. Possible she's molting at an odd time and then getting sunburned?

 

[coach723]

Sorry to beat this to death, you said your vet ruled out mites, did they do a skin scraping? While most mites can be visually identified, depluming mites burrow into the feather shafts and into the skin around the shafts and only a skin scraping will show them.
From the Merck Veterinary Manual:
Depluming Mite
The depluming mite, Neocnemidocoptes gallinae, is found worldwide and burrows into the epidermis at the base of feather shafts, causing intense irritation and feather pulling and loss in chickens, pheasants, pigeons, and geese in spring and summer. Hyperkeratosis, skin lesions, and digit necrosis can result from the burrowing. Affected birds should be isolated and treated with ivermectin, malathion, or sevin dust.
Here's the whole page: https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/ectoparasites/mites-of-poultry
Here are some pictures from another site: http://forum.backyardpoultry.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=8001099
Honestly, if she were mine, since there are no other symptoms, I'd treat for those and see if it takes care of it. Regardless of the cause she's probably not going to get new feathers until she molts. Since she has red bare spots that may be attracting pecking, so I'd do some observing for that. When any of my birds start losing feathers around the vent it's usually from picking while on the roosts at night, and rearranging roosts so that they aren't 'nose to butt' so to speak while roosting can help with that. When someone is getting pecked they naturally turn away to protect their head, and it exposes their rear.
Just some thoughts, hope you are able to figure it out.