Unexplainable Feather Loss on Throat

seobannon

Hatching
6 Years
Sep 9, 2013
1
0
7
Fauquier County, VA
I need some advice to help me figure out unexplainable feather loss in 3 of my 8 hens. 3 of my EE hens have have had bald throats for going on a few months now and I just can't figure out why! My barred rock lost some feathers on her throat, but she has pin feathers coming back in well, so I'm almost positive hers is the end of a molt (she's a little over a year old). The EE's though don't even have pin feathers coming back in. I have tried Blue Kote, Vaseline, and the No-pick lotion. Nothing seems to improve it. I don't SEE anyone picking them and I have ZERO traces of mites in any of my hens or my coop, although I have dusted with Poultry dust and provided a dust bathing area with DE in it, just as a preventative. My girls are on Dumor complete layer crumble, supplemented with free choice oyster shell and a few mealworms at bedtime for protein. They also get a minimum of 2 hrs supervised free ranging in the afternoons (much more on the weekends!). There are 8 girls total with a 6'x8' tall coop and a 8'x12' covered run that they have access to all day. I also provide then with a flock block and a head of cabbage every other day or so to keep them entertained when I'm not home.
Can anyone think of ANY way for me to figure out what this is?! If it is picking (which I would be surprised since I haven't witnessed it), does anyone have solutions other than the No-pick purple goop that didn't really work for me?
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It is feather picking. I have a few bearded chickens--EE's, ameraucanas, d'uccles, and salmon faverolles, and that is creative grooming, LOL. Some get it and some don't. Lots of time they do it when they are on the roost in the evening, or if two of them just are hanging around. There are some anti-pick lotions out there, and there are some bad-tasting creams such as Nustock from the feed store that is a sulfur-based healing cream that has some pine oil in it that might help. If you let them out all day to free range they might not pick as much, but you also have to worry about the predators.
 

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