What is going on with my chicken's skin?

[GardenTeacher]

After a full year of no pecking, my birds have started pecking each other's backsides (around the vent) and backs. I can't find any signs of mites or anything else (though I'm not 100% sure I could identify them) but their skin and the nubbins of their new feathers look odd and sickly. Here are some pictures. Also, maybe unrelated: really loose stool lately. Any advice appreciated!

 

[MrsBrooke]

Do you have a rooster? As a rooster treads a hen, he can tear her feathers out...

Otherwise, have they been cooped up due to bad weather? Change in feed? What protein percent are they getting?

MrsB

 

[GardenTeacher]

Hi! We don't have a rooster. We gave him away to another farm since we're urban and he was making a ruckus. They haven't been particularly cooped up or have new food. This is their food: http://blueseal.com/files/feeding-and-mgmt/poultry/1001-organiclife-layer.pdf

I guess I'm wondering about why they might be pecking around the vent specifically and whether it indicates something about mites, lice or something else that I might not be seeing...

 

[MrsBrooke]

If you can identify who is doing the picking, you can isolate that chicken (or two) for a few days.

When you put them back with the flock, they should play nicer with every one.

MrsB

 

[chicken79aries]

I am having the exact same problem. Have you found a solution to this yet? If so, what did you do? Did you treat the wound at all?

 

[MrsBrooke]

Also, mites and lice will cause a chicken to pull its own feathers out in frustration. Observation is the key to unlocking the mystery here... You've gotta watch them until you SEE one of them doing it.

If you part the feathers around your chickens' vent, you may see tiny red bugs scurry back into hiding and their eggs (nits) attached at the base of the feathers... you might also see tiny clear-white bugs around the ear.

If you find any lice/mites, Sevin Dust from Lowe's or Home Depot treats those little creepies. Dust all your flock and the coop, then repeat in seven days, and again in seven days.

Keep us posted!

MrsB