Why does my hen's back feathers look like this?

[bibzybean]

My head hen is usually a creamy white colour, but her bum feathers look absolutely horrible. She has had similar issues in the past but they usually clear up on their own, however I have never seen her look this bad. Physically, she's fine - fat, eats and drinks plenty, runs around - but her feathers look terrible and she seems to only have liquid excrement. I have not seen any lice. She has just finished a molt so her feathers should look lovely. Sorry for the unflattering photo, but desperate times call for desperate measures:

Any idea what this could be? Thank you

 

[Painted Calls]

Looks like a very bad case of lice/mites.

@cmom has great treatment advice.

 

[bibzybean]

Looks like a very bad case of lice/mites.

@cmom has great treatment advice.

okay, thank you!

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I'd keep a close eye on her weight because diarrhea can cause them to lose a lot of weight quickly. You might want to start her on some probiotics, along with what Mare mentioned.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

What are you feeding them, feed and treats? Molting is hard on them and can really take a lot out of them. Being "fat" isn't good for a laying hen, but I know that doesn't necessarily mean that she's actually overweight. I have a hen that lost a lot of weight before I realized it and she's still working on getting her weight back on. Between lice and/or mites and molting, your hens body is really hard at work.

 

[Mosey2003]

Is it just diarrhea in her feathers? If it's truly not lice eggs, something is wrong with her guts. Personally, I'd probably bring her in, give her a really good bath and blow dry, and deworm her. Plus probiotics, and maybe even some Corid water. Something is wrong.

 

[Mosey2003]

I would definitely bring her in and thoroughly investigate, then. If there are lice eggs, they need to be removed, and it's not easy. And then treatment for lice/mites - I go with permethrin. You can dust or spray/dip. If you end up washing her butt thoroughly you might as well dip and be done with it, since you're going to have to dry her anyway.

 

[Eggcessive]

I agree that I would treat with permethrin dust for lice, but there could be a fungal infection called vent gleet causing the diarrhea and excoriation around her vent. Probiotics may help, but I would try to get nystatin, medistatin powder, or monistat 7 cream to give orally. You also can use the monistat around her vent, or get some Nustock Cream from your feed store where horse supplies are sold. A daily butt bath in warm Epsom salts or dish soap would be good, and keep her inside until her feathers are dry. Here is where to get Medistatin powder (the same as nystatin) and mix it in small amount of waterand five it orally twice a day.
https://allbirdproducts.com/products/medistatin

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/vent-gleet-aka-nasty-chicken-butt.64647/

 

[Eggcessive]

Here are 2 articles to read about vent gleet:
https://www.tillysnest.com/2012/12/vent-gleet-prevention-and-treatment-html/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/vent-gleet-aka-nasty-chicken-butt.64647/

With lice, all birds should be dusted every 10 days for 2-3 times to bet the new ones that hatch. The coop bedding should be removed far away, and the roosts, nests, and coop should be treated with Permethrin 10 concentrate mixed with water in a spray bottle or garden sprayer. You can find that at most TSC and feedstores under Martins or Gordons brand.

 

[bibzybean]

What are you feeding them, feed and treats? Molting is hard on them and can really take a lot out of them. Being "fat" isn't good for a laying hen, but I know that doesn't necessarily mean that she's actually overweight. I have a hen that lost a lot of weight before I realized it and she's still working on getting her weight back on. Between lice and/or mites and molting, your hens body is really hard at work.

she isn't overweight, and I haven't noticed her lose any weight either, but I'll keep an eye on her. I only say she's fat because she's the biggest of our bunch and tends to hog all of the extra treats to herself (we usually give them oily fish, vegetables and corn as treats, alongside their usual feed). She has just started laying again after a year long break for an unknown reason, so that is something that we are wary of as well. Thanks for your help