What can I do for birds missing feathers

[kssilkiemama]

Ok... First off no flaming please but I bought some birds from a local breeder and when she brought them to me they were not in the best of health... I went ahead and took them partly because yes I felt sorry for them, the other part because I knew I could get them back to health... My question is... One has a large amount of her back feathers missing I am guessing from roosters... The other two are missing all but one single feather from their head... Literally... I could not send those birds back... It made me mad they were in that condition... So I brought them home, quarantined them, sprayed for lice, put them in a run with wood chips, good quality feed and a little red cell in their water... I am just trying to get them over the stress stage... One is obviously molting but I was wondering what can I put on the two birds skin to help them heal better... The other birds are not picking on them and they do not have any open areas... They just look like they fought a varmint and the varmint almost won... Any suggestions would be appreciated... Thank you!

 

[kssilkiemama]

Vaseline? Vet rx? Mineral oil? Any suggestions?

 

[cluckcluckgirl]

That's very kind of you to take them in. The main point that stands out to me is you say no birds are picking at them. Since no one is pecking the area, my advice is just to let them be and give them plenty of nutrients to regrow the feathers. If any chickens do start to peck at the feather stubs, I put a no-peck spray (Blu-Kote) over the area to help hide the feathers and give them a nasty taste. This whole process will take lots of time, but the chickens will be thankful for you nurturing them.

 

[bigbruce]

40 years experience here..If no open sores I wouldn't put anything on there skin.They need a lot of protein to recover.Get some dry kitten food to feed them it's like 40% protein and put organic apple cider in there water one tablespoon per gallon.this will get them on the road to recovery

 

[kssilkiemama]

Thank you! I will continue to watch them....

 

[bigbruce]

Apple cider viniger

 

[kssilkiemama]

What about crumbled hard boiled eggs for a jump start?

 

[cluckcluckgirl]

What about crumbled hard boiled eggs for a jump start?

I think that's a good idea. Eggs are a very good source of protein.

 

[bigbruce]

Yes eggs will help

 

[kssilkiemama]

Thank you all for your help! I truly appreciate it! Day three and they are all still alive. One I am sure has wryneck *sigh* that I noticed last night so the Red Cell should help. This woman really irritates me but I will keep to myself about it. Just hope I can make those hens lives better, no one deserves to be treated like that... They are so light, I think they were barely alive... One is absolutely beautiful but appears to be a little older than the other three...I am feeding Naturewise by Nutrena and in a couple of days I plan to worm them with some Wazine and spray again for Lice...when it decides to quit raining here, I plan to bathe them but we have had 10" in just a few days... They are inside my chicken house on dry wood chips with a heat lamp up a little high just to keep the draft off of them...

Question... Should I apply a little Vet Rx?