red featherless butt

[linbee]

I have 11 hens - about half of them have red butts with few or no feathers. I have read old posts and cleaned the whole coop top to bottom, dusted with DE (which I do anyway), cleaned nesting boxes, checked for lice & mites and found none. Everyone seems fine, laying fine, I don't see any bullies - what else??? Their butts don't look bad, just bright pink - no sores - no swelling - I am baffled. Any ideas?

 

[Birdrain92]

I have 11 hens - about half of them have red butts with few or no feathers. I have read old posts and cleaned the whole coop top to bottom, dusted with DE (which I do anyway), cleaned nesting boxes, checked for lice & mites and found none. Everyone seems fine, laying fine, I don't see any bullies - what else??? Their butts don't look bad, just bright pink - no sores - no swelling - I am baffled. Any ideas?

DE sometimes doesn't do that great of a job and some species of mites can hide inside the coop during the day and come out at night.

 

[Dianacatz]

If there are no mites or lice on her (have you checked the skin under the wing near the vent?) then it must be something from inside. If she don't get any better soon and no external parasite is detected, then go to the vet and have her tested for internal parasites. Let me know if she is recovering or if she has lice/mites.

Wishes,
Diana

 

[linbee]

If it was just one hen, I would think something internal, but this is 6 hens. I don't see any lice/mites on them. What do you use for mice/lice inside coop if not DE?

One of the older posts says it could be some acidic foods, and I do toss in tomatoes from the garden once in a while - carrots - spinach, but I have stopped all of that to see if that was the problem. I have calcium/oyster shell out at all times.

My vet and all feed store people know less than I do about chickens so that was no help. Are their airborne things that affect hens?

 

[Dianacatz]

It could be a internal parasite that is spreading or it might be the food. Most of these causes are from internal parasites. You should find a good vet if another chicken gets this symptom. I know that with cats, there is a virus that can be spread by a infected cat scratching a uninfected cat. It could be similar with hens too. I would make sure they are not in pain and are not doing something abnormal. Could you send some pics of the butt? It might help.

Wishes,
Diana

 

[Birdrain92]

If it was just one hen, I would think something internal, but this is 6 hens. I don't see any lice/mites on them. What do you use for mice/lice inside coop if not DE?

One of the older posts says it could be some acidic foods, and I do toss in tomatoes from the garden once in a while - carrots - spinach, but I have stopped all of that to see if that was the problem. I have calcium/oyster shell out at all times.

My vet and all feed store people know less than I do about chickens so that was no help. Are their airborne things that affect hens?

I use Poultry Protector. It's a spray on them and you don't have to worry about overdosing them. It's mainly citric acid. It works immediately.

 

[snowflake]

If it was just one hen, I would think something internal, but this is 6 hens. I don't see any lice/mites on them. What do you use for mice/lice inside coop if not DE?

One of the older posts says it could be some acidic foods, and I do toss in tomatoes from the garden once in a while - carrots - spinach, but I have stopped all of that to see if that was the problem. I have calcium/oyster shell out at all times.

My vet and all feed store people know less than I do about chickens so that was no help. Are their airborne things that affect hens?

I spray my coop with liquid 7's, but try not to spray anything in winter as it will cause to much moisture in the coop.

no discharge at all? that is a puzzle. you could try putting some blue cote on them. maybe there is a feather plucker out there? if it were a yeast infection there would be a nasty discharge. Iodine works well for that. Ivermectin , pyrmethrin 7's powder, Adams pet spray all seem to work well for mites. try wiping your hand under the roost boards, I have read some mites will hide there and only come out at night. if you get what looks like a little blood on your hand it could be that kind of mite.

 

[cafarmgirl]

DE won't get rid of a mite infestation if that's what's going on. Strip your coop, spray it with liquid Sevin, easy to get it into all the nooks and crannies where mites like to hide. You must repeat this again in 7 to 10 days, that is the hatch cycle. If you don't repeat the mite eggs hatch and your right back to square one. Or use something residual like Insectrin by Prozap, one application and you should be good but a second shot would be good insurance. Mites can be very hard to get rid of so you really need to hit them with something effective. Make sure you treat the birds as well. I have used Y-Tex Garden and Poultry Dust as well as Adams pet spray, I prefer the spray. Whenever I deworm my birds they get a shot of spray under each wing and under the tail.

 

[linbee]

I spray my coop with liquid 7's, but try not to spray anything in winter as it will cause to much moisture in the coop.

no discharge at all? that is a puzzle. you could try putting some blue cote on them. maybe there is a feather plucker out there? if it were a yeast infection there would be a nasty discharge. Iodine works well for that. Ivermectin , pyrmethrin 7's powder, Adams pet spray all seem to work well for mites. try wiping your hand under the roost boards, I have read some mites will hide there and only come out at night. if you get what looks like a little blood on your hand it could be that kind of mite.

No discharge at all - it's very clean looking - just pink and featherless. I'm going to do liquid 7 and I'll check under roost boards. Thanks for the tip.

 

[linbee]

DE won't get rid of a mite infestation if that's what's going on. Strip your coop, spray it with liquid Sevin, easy to get it into all the nooks and crannies where mites like to hide. You must repeat this again in 7 to 10 days, that is the hatch cycle. If you don't repeat the mite eggs hatch and your right back to square one. Or use something residual like Insectrin by Prozap, one application and you should be good but a second shot would be good insurance. Mites can be very hard to get rid of so you really need to hit them with something effective. Make sure you treat the birds as well. I have used Y-Tex Garden and Poultry Dust as well as Adams pet spray, I prefer the spray. Whenever I deworm my birds they get a shot of spray under each wing and under the tail.

Thank you for the ideas - I'm going to do the liquid 7 treatment and see what happens. I haven't used Insectrin, but I'll look for it. I have 25 chicks coming at the end of March so I want everything cleared up before the new ones move in. Thanks for your help.