Rooster abuse?

[enggass]

Hey all,
I have had chickens for many years, but finally have an adult rooster. All other roosters I had due to hatching were released prior to mating days. I have one rooster and 5 hens. Which I know is a low ratio. Please tell me if the pictures show feather loss due to rooster abuse or molting. Started small and has gotten worse. Pictures 1 and 2 are hen in question… Picture number 3 is another hen which Im pretty sure is due to rooster, but the first couple of pictures the hen looks worse…

 

[donrae]

First, it wouldn't be abuse on the part of the rooster. He's just mating. Not his fault the hen gets bare backed.

Okay, that said, I don't think it's rooster damage either. Well, he may be contributing to the bare spot on the back, but not under the tail. There's nothing he does during mating that would break/damage/remove feathers in that area.

My thoughts are perhaps picking, or mites.


Some hens simply have more brittle feathers, and they break easily. We all know ladies with fragile hair, that get split ends so easy, or their hair just never looks healthy. Same for birds. You can try boosting protein, if that's the case. It may help, but in some cases the hens just always look tattered.

But addressing the root of the issue will be necessary first.

 

[Ridgerunner]

There are several things out there we sometimes use “off-label”. Some of the wormers people often suggest are approved for pigs or goats maybe but not for chickens. If you use them for chickens, that is off-label. That doesn’t mean they will harm the chickens or won’t work on chickens if you get the dosage right, it means they are not approved for use on chickens. It is possible using something off-label can harm the chickens or there should be a withdrawal period from using eggs or meat. There could be other consequences. What off-label means is that they are not approved for that specific use for whatever reasons. In general commercial operations can’t use them if they are off-label unless they get a prescription from a veterinarian. Then it is legal.

Sevin is still available and approved for use on plants. If you read the label and information that comes with it, you will see what is on the label. Treating chickens for mites or lice is not on the label.

Permethrin is a manmade insecticide generally based on a natural pesticide found in Chrysanthemums. There are many different forms of permethrins, some are on-label to be used to treat for mites and lice on chickens. There may be restrictions on how often you can use it.

I’ll include a link to a fact sheet on permethrins. For those that don’t want to follow the link I’ll put a few excerpts.

http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/PermGen.html

The U.S. EPA decided that permethrin was "likely to be carcinogenic to humans" if it was eaten.

A group of women used a product containing 4% permethrin over their entire bodies to treat a scabies problem during pregnancy. Another group of pregnant women used a product containing 1% permethrin to treat head lice. Exposure to permethrin did not affect the pregnancies of any of the women in either group.

Permethrin is highly toxic to fish and other animals that live in either salt water or fresh water. Permethrin is low in toxicity to birds, but some aerosol products made with permethrin may also contain other ingredients that can harm birds if they inhale it. Permethrin is highly toxic to bees and other beneficial insects

Permethrin was applied indoors near a window in an experiment where it was exposed to daylight. After 20 days, 60% of the permethrin that was applied was still on the surface.

Less than 1% of the permethrin put on the skin of people was taken into the body. If permethrin is eaten, most of it is quickly absorbed. The pyrethroids easily pass through the lungs into the body if inhaled, but no specific data on permethrin was found.

 

[rebrascora]

In the second photo the hen appears to have an abnormal abdominal swelling to me....maybe ascites...worth checking her over.
I also would have expected to see bare patches on the shoulders if it was rooster damage, so I agree that there is probably something else going on.

 

[Michaels1715]

Good luck with your hens. Was just browsing here while waiting (hoping) someone will answer my question. I wanted to mention though - I used "garden and poultry dust" on my chickens last year for mites. It seemed to kill the mites.... but it also killed my favorite chicken.

She was a 4 yr old RSL - a hen with personality and intelligence I have never seen equaled. Long story short - she was hit by a car when she was 1, and I nursed her back. Overall, she was pretty much back to normal, but at the end of every winter she would sit in the coop a lot - I think her legs hurt her. Almost like she was broody except she wasn't broody (although the sweetie did hatch chicks for me 2 years ago).
Anyway, since she was in the coop a lot – I think that's why the mites got bad on her. So I dusted her and the others. Everyone else went outside and ran around, dust bathing and free ranging, etc., but my sweetie stayed inside. I would carry her outside every day when she did this - at least for a little while, and kept her separate from the others (partly to avoid the attentions of the rooster - which is why I think she really stayed inside). A day or two after dusting her, she stood in the grass preening herself, and I noticed there was still quite a bit of white powder on her. And here she was sticking her head in her powdered feathers while peeening.
I know, that wasn't so short. But I'll end it here because it's been almost a year and I'm still so upset with myself...
My baby went blind within a few days. I spent so much time trying to take care of her, but she was barely eating, and getting worse, and I didn't want her to sufffer any more than what I had already unknowingly put her through, so my vet put her down for me.

Anyway, I hope the product you used works and doesn't hurt your birds. I did have the same issue (feather loss) with one of my hens - I actually tried a hen saddle for a couple of months and it didn't help at all. It was mites, and once I got rid of them, her feathers regrew. Hope same for your girls. Best wishes.
~Sharon

 

[Folly's place]

Any product can be toxic if overused, and also, Michael's bird may have been ill with another problem that actually was the cause of her death. Did the vet do a necropsy? Mary

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Birds that are infested with external parasites often have something else going on which makes them not dust bath and tend to their grooming.

So it's possible an already sick bird could have troubles handling any type of treatment.

The only birds I have seen an excess of external parasites on were either broody or they died not too long after. Some would say the parasites killed them. I personally think it's a symptom of other issues with the bird.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Looks more like feather picking, especially the ones bottom. Rooster wear will be similar but by the time they are that naked they also have bare patches on the top part of the wings usually. The bottom never gets bald like that.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I too do not think rooster damage. I also noticed the bare bottomed hen looking swollen.

How old are they? Ever wormed them? Possible mites and another issue for the hen.

 

[aart]

Yes, how old.......and what and how exactly are you feeding??