quarterRIR Rooster Losing feathers

[Tater50]

For about a month my RIR Rooster has been losing some feathers in the throat & hindquarter area: hens seem to be OK. Sprayed the whole entire pen & put sevin dust (I know a NoNo) under each wing. Roosters skin is a dark red. Seems to have plenty of energy: cannot seem to find out the problem.


Thanks Tater50

 

[CMV]

Could they be molting? If they are over a year old it is that magical time of year.

 

[tryxichicks]

SOunds like a molt to me too. Can you upload a pic?

 

[Tater50]

Fast Responses Did not think they would be molting in this cool of weather, but I am a newbie to raising chickens. I have 14 chickens in a pen of about 12 X 16; but I let them out most everyday.

Will try to get a pic up by the weekend.

Thanks
Later/Tater

PS BTW: great site!!!

Also: Could he have a mite problem? Cannot see any!!! I know that Sevin Dust is a NoNo, what do you use for mites?

 

[CMV]

Sevin dust is used regularly by folks with mite problems. I used to use it myself, but switched over to Eprinex. It's applied topically and beats the heck out of having to dust birds.

Have you done a mite check? You generally see mites after dark. Sneak into the coop at night with a flashlight and pluck a bird off the roost. Check them over by the light of the flashlight paying close attention to the vent area, which is where mites like to hang out. Mites are so tiny they can be hard to see. They look like tiny moving dirt particles. If you can't find any evidence of them on the birds and the birds don't seem to be ailing, then I would just assume that they are molting.

If you have mites you will need to clean out the coop and treat all the birds and then repeat the whole procedure in 7-10 days. Mites live in the coop as well as on the birds.

Good luck.