why is my 7month old hen loosing feathers

[kissgizmo]

i have a 7 moth old hen that is losing feathers under her wings its not red or bleed no sores the rooster has been getting her on the back of the neck whats wrong with my hen?she also lay around alot i dont use mite dust but i have other chickens and none of them have it could she or someof the others be plucking them my rooster is being mean to her maybe its her nerves

 

[moosey109]

Do you put down mite powder in your coop? Could be mites.

 

[threehorses]

Roosters generally don't pick under their wings, though. It's usually their head, saddle area, back of neck, etc.

First, you'll want to rule out lice especially feather lice- and mites. Mites don't usually stay on the birds during the day, note - they come out at night, and then not every night - only when they feed. They hide in the cracks of the wood and in bedding. So you have to check the bird at night, try with a flashlight, and then do that several times to catch the sneaky little things!

Lice are easier - they're slower and they don't survive as long off the bird.

Check - not so coincidentally - under the wings, at the back of the neck, and at the vent. Those are the favored paces.

In fact, I'd go as far to say go ahead and treat for them. Even if you don't see them. Consider it "maintenance".

Poultry dust (Permethin) is safe and gentle to birds - but not mites and lice.

You'll dust all the birds, paying careful attention to the areas mentioned above. Then you'll put dust under the bedding (scrape it aside, dust the ground, replace the bedding over it), dust the bedding and stir it in. Use the poultry dust, mix it with water, and paint the wood in the birds' area three feet up from the ground and in the cracks and joints in the wood. Whitewash it with a thin mixture of that poultry dust and water. Or mineral oil and water. Getting it in the cracks means you're dusting where mites lay.

Then redo it in 7 days. Do all the birds, and then if you want you can use more natural things like DE in their dust bathing area.

In the mean time, if you can tell us about her diet and that of all the birds - perhaps someone's missing some fiber or a nutrient?