4 out of my 6 chickens have completley bald butts. They are 8 months old. Two months ago we treated them with D.E. beacause they were shaking there heads. The head shaking never stopped, and I don't know what is wrong. the skin is not raw or red, seems healthy. only one of them has feather loss anyware else ( she lost her beard, it grew back, and thenn she lost some back feathers) PLEASEE HELP I AM FRANTIC
Pick several up and look at the skin under the vents, under the neck and wings for tiny tan bugs. Lice are fast moving and will leave whitish-gray clumps of eggs at the base of feathers. Mites are slower and leave brown specks. I would not treat them unless you see bugs. Some mites will only get on them at night, so you need to look at them at night as well. Permethrin 10% spray concentrate will be safe to treat them with and the bottle will make many gallons. Use a spray bottle to apply about 1/2 ounce of the diluted liquid per bird. You can get them off the roost at night while they are asleep to treat them. Head shaking is normal, but can also be a sign of ear mites or infections, and respiratory infections if you see other signs. The bald butts are probably from feather picking. To little room in the coop, not getting outside all day to roam around, or too little protein in the diet can be causes.
