What could this be....?

[kristin67]

I have a couple with this as well .. I have checked for mites and haven’t seen any . Their “big girl” feathers are slowly finally growing in these areas now

 

[WhoDatChick]

very welcome, yes ma'am. Maybe u could add some of the plastic they use on green houses in that spot since they dont wanna be in the coop? Could be good long term anyway for blowing rain and wouldnt block ur veiw like that

That’s a good idea.. I was going out every night after dark and placing them in the coop.. but then I figured they’ll just figure it out by following the others eventually...

 

[WhoDatChick]

I can say that I haven’t had any success with rooster booster no pick stuff... I’d say try the pine tar... the only hens I have with a similar issue are “favorites” of my rooster I’ve ordered in a hen saddle for one

Thanks.. I will try it..

 

[WhoDatChick]

Those are very strange.

It was very weird.. those were their first tail feathers they grew in and they just sorta got pushed out the back when new ones came in... have no idea why they would grow two sets of feathers like that so young and in a very short amount of time

 

[aart]

It was very weird.. those were their first tail feathers they grew in and they just sorta got pushed out the back when new ones came in... have no idea why they would grow two sets of feathers like that so young and in a very short amount of time

They go thru a couple set of feathers, juvenile molts, before 5-6 months of age.
What's odd is that the old feather is striped to the vane and didn't fall out before the new feather grew in.
Had you wormed them?
Some wormers can affect feather growth.
Could also indicate depluming mites.
Where did chicks come from?

 

[Ladybird CA]

I haven't had this happen to a young chicken so I'm not so sure what it could be. My first thought was molting too but I haven't seen that one that young have it but I've mostly only had bantams. I hope she recovers!

 

[mixedUPturk]

They go thru a couple set of feathers, juvenile molts, before 5-6 months of age.
What's odd is that the old feather is striped to the vane and didn't fall out before the new feather grew in.
Had you wormed them?
Some wormers can affect feather growth.
Could also indicate depluming mites.
Where did chicks come from?

Im pretty sure she hasnt wormed them and that they came from a feed store near her. Shes a friend i try to keep up w with. Is a depluming mite not going to spread as quickly to other birds? There are about 20 birds total.

 

[WhoDatChick]

They go thru a couple set of feathers, juvenile molts, before 5-6 months of age.
What's odd is that the old feather is striped to the vane and didn't fall out before the new feather grew in.
Had you wormed them?
Some wormers can affect feather growth.
Could also indicate depluming mites.
Where did chicks come from?

Right, but they were only of couple weeks old as they are six weeks old now... no wormers... and I got them from a feed store where I’ve gotten some in the past.. I did get permethrin powder today.. should I go ahead and treat?

 

[Kris5902]

I was looking into de-pluming mites earlier with some of my concerns about my rescue girls feathering... apparently the little nasties eat the feathers basically hollowing them out and making like a powdery dust in the shaft. So I wouldn’t jump to that conclusion right away... granted my really patchy one still looks awful (nutrition issues during first molt and some feather picking I think on mine)

If you’re seeing any other signs of mites or lice then I’d say go for it, but some bugs can develop resistances to permethrin, so use it as infrequently as possible, IMO, to maintain it’s effectiveness.

Edit to add: if it is a de-pluming mite infestation, the powder may not even be effective, because like SLM (they are related) these things burrow inside the feather shaft and skin. If you’re sure that’s it... then you may want to consider a systemic instead like ivermectin (I know, controversial in chickens, and I’m not recommending anything one way or the other really, because I’m not very experienced with chickens, just saying from what I’ve read that you may want to consider it) @WhoDatChick

 

[cluckmecoop7]

One of my chickens has this too. It is pretty small though: