What is this?

[JimWWhite]

Sorry, no pics for the moment but I can get them if necessary. We have 29 GC's and 2 or 3 of them have something going on with their crop area. They're losing feathers just above their crops and it looks like they've been picked out. I've examined them closely and I can't see any mites or other parasites but they keep losing feathers. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[poultryrox11]

I think pics would be helpful, it could be some kind of paracite, but i could not tell without pics.

 

[CMV]

Could you have a feather picker or two in the group? I never had this particular behavioral problem until this year. It got really bad really quick. Turns out I had a couple feather pickers in my new batch of birds. Some pinless peepers took care of the problem.

 

[Little Chicken's Nana.]

Good Day, My chickens have been losing there feathers for a while now, at first I thought it was just from the rooster's, I only have 2 Rooster's, and I have 26 Hen's. I had them all in the same coop and run, and while the rooster's were in the same coop with the hens, they to were losing a lot of feathers, and they also were very hard on the hens, I could'nt take watching it anymore, so I let the Rooster's out, and we built them a coop on the back side of the big coop, and now they dont come in contact with the hens, I think the hens are happier. They have been out and away from them now for over a month and a half, the rooster's now have all there feathers back, but the Hens, they still look horible, and I mean really bad, I'am trying to get my camera to work, and then I'am going to post some pictures later today, I hope everyone out there can help me, maybe your's have been thru this, my hens have no feathers on there back end at all, and its really bad red, then under there rump they have no feather's and its red, I have treated them with Blue Kote, good stuff its takes forever for it to wear off, and someone said to try NuStock, its like a lotion, well I tried it all just a couple of them, and I cant tell if its working, I have sprayed the entire coop, after I cleaned it out with some stuff called Permitin for all kinds of bugs, yes I said Bugs, to this day I have not seen a bug yet, and I made them a sand box with sand and I mixed the powder permitin in, and yes they do get in it and take dust baths, I thought maybe they dont have enough room, but the coop is 8 by 8 with a 10 by 20 run. But my husband called to tell me from school that he is at, that it might be the poop ban that's under the roost bars, I mean I have it right under the bars, he thinks it might be the ammonia in the poop that is burning there feathers off of them, I dont know, but I'am on my way out to the coop to move it up and away from the roost bars, he brought up a point, that in the boys coop they dont have a poop pan, I have'nt had time to build one, there poop falls to the floor, both coops are made out of the same them, the boys are better, but the girls look really bad, none of this has effected there egg laying, there still laying everyday, I hope ya'll can help me. Thank you.

 

[rungirl]

I had this happening to one hen, and then later another. I walked in one day and found a bunch of feathers all over the coop floor and one hen with her throat almost bare. I think one of them is picking feathers. The weather was very cold and they were spending a lot of time in the coop, so it must be from boredom. Anyway, I sprayed the first one with some Blu Cote the other day. I think that may be working. I think it must taste nasty to them. If it doesn't get better, I may have to try those pinless peepers. Hmmm.