Its summer here (January) so I dont think she would be molting. Claire. Looks like feather picking to me to> I agree w/eggcessive> up the protein. If youve just introduced a group of chickens to the flock or if you have chickens of varying ages, breeds, or dispositions dont be surprised if you find some missing feathers. Clean your coop on a regular basis at least once a week or use other methods to keep lice and mites away. What breed? Boredom is another common cause of bullying behavior, as is overcrowding. If you think your chicken might have vent gleet, it's important to take her to the vet as it can be a serious infection. Kristi Cook. If your hen has a parasite you should quarantine them for at least 21 days. Broodiness is not dangerous, and is actually quite a miracle to witness if it happens in your chicken coop. The most common reason for feather loss in chickens is molting or molting, which is natural and involves replacing older feathers with new ones. Step 1. Vent Gleet | Hen Health | British Hen Welfare Trust I am really new to raising chickens. So the original (Lady Gaga) has been alone for a while. None of the other chickens have been losing their feathers. My youngest chick, (about a year and a half old), has been losing her feathers on her wings and around her neck. Nice to hear their feathers are coming back Dana Can 1 out of 5 hens molt? One was younger we had her for three months and never laid an egg before she died. That being said, mating usually doesnt progress to this extreme. Hello, The other chooks are laying well. Signs of vent gleet include a runny bottom, redness, and feathers that are stuck together or falling out. Hi, Let me know how you get on, Chickens losing feathers on the neck and head. It looks like feather picking which can become a habit, and possibly lead to cannibalism. Make sure to try our own DIY recipe for flock block to save some money! Required fields are marked *. whether its for behavioral or egg production reasons you can break her Finally, around a year old, chickens start to moult, and this includes chickens losing vent feathers. So in effect it is not a cause but a symptom. With it being on their back, I suspect the pin feathers are getting worn off with mating. Chicken losing feather around vent! - Backyard Chickens Could it be that it is old and it is dying? Thank you. Are they penned up? Chickens molt during the end of the egg-laying season, in the fall. She doesnt have mites. They all start with a swolen vent with a loss of feathers. I know she can reach the chest, but all around the vent as well? Ill Health. They look soft and fuzzy. I think the first hen is starting to molt as well, but Im not sure. You can look at the label and specific formulation of your brand to determine whether your chickens are getting the protein they need. thanks, Diana, hello diana i think they do but it never specifys the gender. The first year I thought there was something wrong with her and kept treating for mites, but she keeps doing it same time every year. You will notice when they start to molt, they lose feathers around their neck first. Do this and if you still have problems then let me know We don't see any mites/fleas and have never seen them peck at each other. In fact, compared to the other reasons, this is hardly noticeable or not even noticeable. We have 5 easter eggers with one rooster and 6 black hens which i dont know what they are. Claire. While most rodents make their way inside a coop in search of the free grain, some will stay and go after the chickens if theyre bored or large. We did notice a couple of weeks ago she has a small patch of new feathers growing. Broody hens often get targeted because they have plucked out their own breast feathers, and the other chickens will then peck at the red flesh. The other 2 are fine. Claire. Still one of her wing feathers had a black base when it fell out. KnowYourChickens.com does not intend to provide veterinary advice. No sign of feather growth. Plus, where her skin is showing it is bright red. More space is better, and allowing your birds to free range is always best. I moved them about a month ago, and dont know if she I depressed from the move or not. If you want her to stop being broody get her some fertilized eggs to hatch or get the eggs away from her, and make sure she doesnt lay on any eggs. It's most common among young chicks and growing birds. Hi Kelly, I do not know how old she is. Please send us some photos and we will do our best to help I figured it would grow back soon, then when it didnt, I assumed the feathers would grow back when she went through a hard molt. Claire. In a moult you will see new feathers beginning to appear. Nothing if you want her to hatch her own eggs. I used a mite spray that I bought from. This can get susceptible to maggots. We noticed this about 10 weeks ago & started putting diatomaceous earth powder on her, in the coup & brooding boxes. This can be a hard one to rule out as well as to treat, because sometimes, you wont have a lot of control over the environment. Chicken With Swollen Abdomen, Missing Vent and Underside Feathers This morning there were a LOT of feathers from one all over the ground. Ensure that the door to your coop is securely locked each night. Crowded? She hasnt layed in about four weeks, either. Hi Anastasia, I live in the uk, have 3 hens (this is their second summer on earth) and one of them has lost a line of feathers from right underneath her belly, between her legs. This means that they are literally feathering their nest in preparation for sitting on eggs and hatching chicks. Make sure she doesnt have any infections or parasites. It also helps them examine themselves for parasites. The content on this blog is not a substitute for veterinary advice. Not only can this cause some serious Well be getting a friend for her from a neighbor soon, so she wont be as lonely. I have noticed slowly the egg production declining. Then they have bloody/watery stool. environmental conditions such as: Follow the best guidelines for raising chickens to ensure that your bird is not freezing, overheating, thirsty, or hungry. A chicken wouldnt normally do this to themselves, unless they were broody and then it would just be on their chest area I am new at this, but you could read up about lice. Fortunately, most of the time - this is not something to worry about at all and if it is something to worry about, we can tell you how to deal with it. If you notice youve had the same hen hanging The most common reason for a chicken losing their feathers is the annual molt; however, this isnt the only reason. I have 4 and she is the only one. That being said, its often cheaper and easier to prevent this disease for settling in in the first place. Is there something I can do to get them to stop pulling out the new growth? Five of these have developed bald spots. Even if you dont see mites or lice on your chickens, they can cause serious problems. Shouldnt her molt be over by now? All the other chickens seem fine. She doesnt seem broody. help! I dont have a rooster. What is going on? All the other chicks seem healthy, no feather loss etc. -loose stools -decrease or cessation of egg laying -depression -decreased appetite or increased appetite -loss of weight -Whitish patches/lesions in the mouth -pasting of vent feathers -swollen bloated abdomen Treatment: - Bathe the chicken to help cleanse and soothe the affected area. We noticed that the black ones are missing feathers at their tail and under their wings. She is still molting and her wing feathers only have the quills. The other three are fine and not losing feathers. I dont know what is happening to her she is very weak and doesnt come out of her coop, She is losing her feathers on her wing, her neck, under her neck, her legs and under her tail it is windy outside so she doesnt come out because even though the wind is not strong at all.Some how the wind makes her feet go up almost like she is lighter than a feather and she cant go outside because the wind makes her feathers fly away. Our article on flock behavior should help: When roosters mate with hens, the rooster holds onto the hens back with their beak- this is known as treading. Please can you email me some photos so I can take a closer look. Fortunately, this is now illegal in many places. Not sure what is going on, Hi Lori, Thank you for any advice! You will notice that egg laying has dropped off significantly, and as long as there are no other signs of stress in the flock, you have nothing to worry about. Hi Donna, They have lived together for a year now so Im not sure what has changed. They were early layers, and were all laying at 4 1/2 5 months old. Im in the middle of writing one and will make sure its ready before the fall when they will moult Could this be the cause? FREE EMAIL BONUSTips & smart strategies to save time and money! The Complete Guide To Chicken Parasites Bullying and other issues related to dominance and the pecking order is a common cause of feather loss among the flock. chickens diet too quickly or abruptly. High in protein to help chickens grow back their feathers. We have tried dysudusdirt, a lice mite spray and 7 dust. Pecking feathers out by other chickens around the vent or on the back is usually . Claire. I also ordered some feed with higher protein as well. Im sorry to hear about your loss The area looks red. Please seek advice from a certified veterinarian in a case of emergency. Do you have a post about moulting where I can read more about it.? Make sure your coop is kept clean (including the nest boxes) and provide your birds with access to fresh, clean water and food at all times. She is a hyline but our other hyline is fine. Hello, How much apple cider vinegar is needed in their water? Thanks. Thanks! Chickens can become cannibals if left to their own devices. Ive previously written about the importance of giving your chickens good quality layers pellets and what happened when we stopped giving our chickens pellets. Don't turn the light off and on at various times, which can cause further molting. While its usually harmless, overmating can be dangerous in that roosters will pull so many feathers from the hens that they will be completely bare on their backs and chests. (There was about 8 inches of snow at the time this happened.) At Tractor Supply they cost $12.99, but last quite a while. My 10 month old rooster has been losing his feathers. This isnt healthy for your hen if it continues for a long time, so make sure you read how to stop a broody hen. Repeat this process every three days. Any suggestions would be great! Maggots infest the dead skin cells of the chicken. In other words, it's the baby maker and the exit for their birdy poo. In this case, yes Id expect it to be the start of their first major molt! I feed them extra protein and they get apple cider vinegar in their water everyday. I guess Ill try the poultry dust just in case. heres my question can I paint the girls with red butts with tree pruning sealer? Could just one chicken have mites/lice? Here are some common locations for your birds to lose feathers: If your chickens are losing feathers in any of these areas, its not anything to be alarmed about. Sounds like she certainly could be being bullied. I live in the city and am only allowed to have 5 chickens. However it seems even 2 days after separating them, she is still losing a lot of her and I am not sure if it is a stress reaction or molting or both? I would expect that your other hens start to molt soon The difference is that they will only lose a few, and they will do it themselves. If you want to know more about chickens, quail, and goats, The Happy Chicken Coop is the place to be! Hi Gwen, Make sure they are comfortable, checking the run and the coop to make sure there are no hazards present. Is there any explanation for this? Moulting is a natural annual process where your chicken replaces its entire compliment of feathers over a few weeks. They are loaded with seeds and full of protein. An aerial attack can cause some serious damage broodiness to stop her from pulling out her own feathers. Molting can take anywhere from 4 to 12 weeks or more. I have what I thought was a brooding chicken, wont get out of nesting box unless I take her out, picks and breast feathers (which is bare) and hardly eats or drinks, but has been in there about 3 weeks. My cock feather fall on the neck it look a patch slowly feel another feathers also, Our chickens are only losing feathers on their rear ends. Most hawk If only one of your chickens has lost their feathers, it could be that she is just broody. No other feathers are missing and cant even tell what sex they are yet. feather loss around the vent - Learn How to Raise Chickens She has lost her tail feathers and several underneath. The vent is the small opening on a chicken's fluffy butt that functions as both a reproductive opening and an excremental escape hatch. They seem to be healthy besides, one is missing feathers on the top of its tail/lower back and neck area (looks to be from being picked on maybe?) out in the nest box for quite some time, broodiness might be to blame for her I go lt them last October. let CurrentYear = new Date().getFullYear() All six of our hens are losing feathers, but it is the spring. The adult feathers came in nicely by fall, but during the winter all of them slowly became covered with downy feathers on about 50 75 percent of their bodies. The previous owner said, she thought there was a bully, we never saw signs of this. This will prevent opportunistic rodents from making their way into your coop. As the name implies, these chickens have no feathers on their neck, and you'll see no signs of the feather follicle from which the pin feathers emerge. You can mix ginger powder up with their game feed, and it helps boost their circulation and spread vitamins and nutrients throughout their body. If you find they are still pecking out each others feathers, you will need to separate the new and old chickens for a few days and then attempt to reintroduce them to each other. But no change in a long time with regrowth and now there are quite a few feathers on the floor..? She seems otherwise to be fine, eating drinking, running around. Could this be molting? I would first sort of mosquito flies and make sure they are kept away from the coop and run area. Is this normal? I am new to raising chickens and tell people when they ask advice that I can tell them what not to do more than I can tell them what to do! Claire. Summer (my favorite chicken) has been the victim of some bullying and pecking for a few months, but blood has never been drawn and it seemed to be getting better. I would suggest getting 1 or 2 new birds & integrate slowly. New Member - Jamestown NY / Warren PA area - Help identifying Golden Comet Roos. Im not just talking a few, its a lot. Use an over-the-counter anti-fungal cream on the vent area after washing the bird each day. Corid not working for chicks with coccidia? I havent done anything yet because of being on state-wide quarantine for Covid 19. This may result in the bird letting go of the chicken and flying away with a talon full of feathers instead. Ill see them start to come in, and the next day theyre gone. When it comes to the red mite dust is there any particular brand I should use or a brand I should stay away from? Help! Any suggestions, Hi Ryan, Finally, during a molt, you will notice that the number of eggs they lay will greatly reduce and most likely stop altogether. You should cover any potential openings with inch hardware cloth. However, your chickens wont even know the powder is there. Make sure your chickens have access to a clean dust bath. It can lead to feather loss around the vent and the entire backside of your chickens. Why Do Chickens Lose Their Feathers On Their Bum? It can get stuck in the skin, making the chickens body think that there is a feather there. I add a solution to their water once a week to prevent this and it has always been successful. It can rapidly lead to cannibalism. Preening is a natural process that birds use to move oils from the glands at the bottom of their tails to their feathers. Regularly treat the chickens with external parasites like mites and lice. Occasionally, they will pick their own feathers to build a nest, which helps to prepare for the hatching chicks and also helps keep the hen and eggs warm. Some use a 20% flock raiser feed and supplement calcium with crushed oyster shell. . I would leave it be but we asked the neighbors if they were missing a chicken and nobody replied. I just came back after being away for a week and found that one of our chickens feathers are gone I dont know what is wrong, Hi Hayley, We had isolated the last sick one, and it recovered. Claire. It has been quite warm 34 Celsius and high humidity with very little rain. If you have an extreme feather-pulling rooster in your flock, you may need to separate him or cull him altogether. My 3 yo Speckled Sussex just began dropping lots of feathers from her fluffy rear area (not the neck like a usual molt). Any Advice? Some good herbal remedies include herbs like peppermint, cinnamon, and lemongrass, as well as the regular application of diatomaceous earth. Hi I have just come back from holiday and one of my favourite chickens is losing/lost feathers from her neck. Youll only see this in the hens, because roosters will be the culprits behind this behavior. Surprisingly, roosters can be the cause of chickens losing their feathers as well. Many thanks for any advice you can provide!! Hi Jennefer, If you suspect that vent gleet is to blame for the loss of feathers, make sure you bring your chicken to a veterinarian and have a full work-up done immediately. We also started noticing her Color is fading. Hi May, An exposed tail area, birds eating loose feathers, or deliberately pecking them out, are signs of feather pecking. Im not sure if weather is a factor. Claire. The eggs have improved significantly. I currently have 3-4 hens that started missing feathers around their vent (their bottoms are super red since then, and then now are starting to lose feathers around their crop and legs and now their crop is red as well). left on for too long), Too few feeders and drinkers, or Im new to chickens (only had a few months now) and this was very thorough and informative. Whats your email so I could send some pictures of them?? One last thing we bought two others at the same time. Could the baby rooster be doing this? Claire. If you have a rooster, overzealous breeding behaviors might be to blame for some feather loss. I would take a read of our why your hen stopped laying article For many years, industrial farmers often forced their chickens to molt and to improve their egg quality by aggressively changing their diet. She looks like someone has chewed her up. We then did notice, a few days ago that the bantam is bullying her quite often and pecking her neck and face, so we have separated them. You might have hens who are high on the pecking order and feel the need to establish their dominance frequently through pulling the feathers of other chickens. Claire, We have a 9 week old Speckled Sussex hen who we just noticed today had feathers ripped out in between her wings. Are My Chickens Molting, Brooding, or Something Else? She turned up in our neighbors yard, but the night before we found her, she had taken shelter in nothing but a dip in the snow. The major site of loss is her back end. If this continues you can either isolate her or the bully and see if her feathers come back. Use poultry dust or organic treatments such as garlic juice. Feather loss and extensive rooster crowing (especially at night) indicate an unwelcome visitor nearby. My chickens were all recently killed by a neighbors dog, except one had escaped somehow and she had been missing for two nights. Hi, I have a Barred Rock. Poke around her vent very gently and check if you can see any lice in her. Do you have any idea what this may be? They are free ranging over 1/2 acre so are definitely not bored. Thanks ahead of time. We separated the smaller hens with missing feathers and let them recover. production has stopped. Since beginning of May-ish, they dropped to 1 or 2 eggs every other day. Take her out and pat the wet area dry with a clean old towel. Hi Claire I have noticed this on one of my birds this morning they are all loosing feathers but one of them as it quails in the back and no feathers in two big patches. Please send us an email with photos and we will try to help Let us know in the comments below what methods youve used to help your chickens during their molts. She (red one) usually sleeps in the nesting box, where I had added some lavender herbs to the sand..she doesnt stay in all day however, just sleeps there, then in to lay eggs late morning, and the outside. As they try to scratch them off, they lose their feathers. And yes I cut out treats and so on. Hi Claire, our 8.5 year old hybrid chicken (Miss Pepperpot) has exactly the same issue quills but no feathery bit. If you still have any lingering doubts about feather loss, the following should help clear them up. My husband is about to kill them because they arent layingany ideas on what is going on?! Left untreated, a mite infestation can even cause your chickens to die, as theyll rob them of the nutrients they need to stay healthy. They are friendly and egg laying, but they have lost their feathers around their vents---no other places. Good luck . This will result in feathers that seem to be missing the ends, as well as those that have jagged edges, as if theyve been cut. it is so close to Fall that I was first thinking that they were just molting but the timing made me wonder if it was stress. I dont see any bald patches or any parasites. Seems my chickens are looking better and their feathers coming back in!!! It has a mixture of play sand, log ash and diatomaceous earth. Hi Denise, . There are two types of molting; a soft molt and a hard molt. Do not light your chicken coop with intense light, as this will illuminate any potential redness. You can add high-protein treats or supplements like black soldier fly larvae, or upgrade to a feed with a higher protein content if this factor is to blame. Should I treat these spots? Its certainly possible that the rooster is doing it- when they mate he will mount their back and this can cause the bald backs. I have put DE in their coop for 2 weeks now. However, if your chickens are losing feathers because they are too hot, you can try providing them with additional shade. One of my hens was the roosters favorite and she lost a lot of feathers. I have one about 3 months missing feathers on her back between her wings too dont see signs of mites. I just got some chickens that are about 8 months old. You might also consider not letting your birds interact with each other until after 10 am, when most of your chickens have already laid. This starts during spring or fall, but should only last 4-10 weeks. I was just looking for some help. Our 14 reasons your chicken is losing feathers are molting, preening, mating, broody hens, vent pecking, bullying from other chickens, insect infestation, rodents, fungal infection, dietary . I have a chicken that has lost a lot of feathers and seems to be kind of sick, lethargic and not running around much. Does this happen with molting or is she being bullied. However, it can cause feather loss in that the roosters will stand on top of the hens while they are mating, cutting them or causing them to lose feathers as they pull on the hen with their beaks. Whilst this jostling for pecking order is normally harmless, occasionally it can turn into bullying, and hens get singled out and targeted. There are two main reasons why a chicken would lose its feathers. Read our in depth guide on molting here: https://www.thehappychickencoop.com/chicken-molting/. I would not treat for lice or mites unless you actually see them. I have no roosters, and they do not free-range. She lays every day and isnt itchy so we think she doesnt have lice. If you are certain is isnt a molt, I would check them for mites! Its the most common chicken grooming behavior. You need to make sure that no blood has been drawn- chickens love to peck a red colored things! I do have a roo who has picked her has her as his favorite but Teanie just keeps losing more and more feathers. The frightened one has been looking very scruffy the last couple of days and this morning I went out to the coop to discover a large bald patch on her back. She wasnt growing feathers for several months and nothing I did worked so I started feeding her feather fixer and that is helping a lot. If you think bullying might be to blame for a loss of feathers on one or more of your birds, but you arent one hundred percent sure, its pretty easy to figure out whether thats the case. Feeding Oyster Shell to Backyard Chickens, 12 Small Chicken Breeds (Breed Guide + Pictures), Greater Scaup: Identification and Behaviors, Hooded Merganser: Identification and Behaviors, Dabbling Duck Species: Everything You Need to Know, 22 Types of Ducks: Behaviors and Appearances, Lights that are too bright (or When we moved in, we were getting five eggs a day. Keep a large, easily read thermometer inside the coop at all times. They will often chew on the chicken feathers while the birds are sleeping, sucking protein from them. They also sometimes remove unsightly feathers. I have about 10 chickens (out of 20+) that are about 70% naked due to feather loss. Sounds like you could have a feather picker in your flock. What could be the problem? Hi, Prevent it by keeping the coop clean and giving your birds proper food and water. Any other ideas or suggestions as to what we can do/change? I dont think they have mites. Bones are sticking out, and the rooster keeps treading on her. The other hen has just finished molting, and is starting to grow her feathers back. I have 1 hen this year that is still bald on her back. Go to official bank website We had a large bush blown over in their run two weeks ago but no one seemed particularly perturbed. Another indication that your chickens have mites is the color of their combs and wattles, as well as the skin around their eyes. Could you email me so I can send photos? However, I wouldnt rule out the stress and loneliness causing this. Chickens Losing Feathers on Neck (Know the Reasons) This fungal disease is much like a yeast infection in humans. You know that your chickens spread the oil from their preen gland (by the base of their tail) and use their beak to spread it over the feathers. (maybe one egg a day). We just had a flood hurricane ( Imelda) and my chickens are loosing feathers all the way to the skin. If sohow many chickens per square foot? Hi June, We have barred plint rocks, they were hatched march 1, 2016.
