Author Topic: Hen losing feathers  (Read 2844 times)

Number Six

  • Half Acre
  • ***
  • Posts: 101
  • Lincolnshire
    • Number Six
Hen losing feathers
« on: August 12, 2013, 19:00:12 »
Hi.

One of our hens has been losing feathers for months. Thought it was the normal moult but she is now starting to look like a walking oven-ready chicken. Any ideas as to what might be wrong and how we can try to cure it?

Many thanks

John

Nigel B

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 565
Re: Hen losing feathers
« Reply #1 on: August 13, 2013, 15:37:44 »
Have you checked for those tiny mites they get infected with so quickly in the summer?
A really bad infestation may just be enough to do it.

This year I'm trying the Bob martins version of Frontline, just because its cheaper..
"Carry on therefore with your good work.  Do not rest on your spades, except for those brief periods which are every gardeners privilege."

goodlife

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,649
Re: Hen losing feathers
« Reply #2 on: August 13, 2013, 15:59:37 »
Is you hen still laying? How old is she? Has she lost weight too? Does she appear healthy other wise?
How's her appetite?
Is other girls lacking many feathers? What colour is her comb?
What do you feed her with and do you give her any supplements?
Has she been scared by cat/dog/fox/kids? Does other birds peg at her?


Sorry for all the questions...but there is several reasons why she is bald so before we are able to give more detail help..some back round info is needed or we end up writing 'encyclopedia of baldness with poultry' :drunken_smilie:

Number Six

  • Half Acre
  • ***
  • Posts: 101
  • Lincolnshire
    • Number Six
Re: Hen losing feathers
« Reply #3 on: August 14, 2013, 23:03:26 »
Many thanks for the replies so far. She has been steadily losing feathers since the winter but the 3 other hens are fine. Have experienced red mite in the past but no signs of it on the hens or inside the coop. They feed on layers meal and her appetite appears to be ok. Her comb is the normal red colour and have not noticed her being 'hen pecked' or scared by other animals or kids. Friends with chickens have suggested drops of apple cider vinegar in the water. Is this a good idea in anyone's opinion?

goodlife

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,649
Re: Hen losing feathers
« Reply #4 on: August 14, 2013, 23:55:38 »
Hmm....does she seem to 'groom' herself lot? It is known to happen that they want to strip themselves for some unknown reason.
Dropping feathers other than for usual moult indicate that she is under stress for some reason. Perharps she is not getting everything she needs from her diet...perharps is something else, but when feathers start dropping..her body is not able to keep them going and they have to go to keep rest of her system alive.
Cider vinegar in drinking water doesn't hurt though I doubt it will be the remedy..the way cider vinegar works is that it makes conditions inside better for those 'friendly bacteria'..thus she is able to utilize any nutrients better from her diet.
Without actually seeing your bird it is difficult to say what is the reason, if you say she is free from mites and lice and has been wormed, next step would be giving her some supplements. 'Poultry drink' is vitamin and mineral supplement that would not go a miss.....make sure your pellets are 'fresh' and not kept too long...'growers pellets' would be good idea mixed with the 'layers pellets' as it is not necessary to encourage her to carry on laying while she is not in condition for it. It is not easy to provide her own choice of feed when there is others around so compromise of mixing the feeds won't affect others performance.
Make sure that there is plenty of grit available and perharps giving you girls fresh 'dust bath' source ensure that they are keeping themselves groomed. You can make nice and healing 'dust mix' with dry sand, wood ash and some diatomaceous earth (if you are not familiar with the last one, google it and you get some brand names for it)..the last one you can use to dust whole of the coop and nest boxes to deal with the parasites. I buy it from ebay  under 'diatomaceous earth' name rather than brand name and it is MUCH cheaper that way.
If you have access for some nice berries..like currants...those would give some good vitamins that will add into their diet...some greens too..plenty of variety. You could hold off from corn as it is just  energy food and not much 'goodness'. Some protein will help with feather growing (good during moult) with could be crushed up snails, worms or some dog food .. 'loaf' sort in tin ,but keep off from poultry varieties or cheaper option is 'complete' dog biscuits that are soaked soft in hot water. I give some for my girls every now and then as they don't get to free range and have access that many 'meaty bugs', but particularly during moult is when they truly need it and it helps them get over the hassle very quickly. I don't think layers pellets are that 'complete' food anyway and some complimentary 'bits and bobs' does good for them.
All advise I can give is really based for checking that all the basics in poultry care are in place....lets hope it is 'just' matter of adjusting her nutrient uptake and nothing more serious.
If you girls are 'getting on'..when they get older they can come up with all sorts of troubles...why farmers don't want to keep hens going on for long.
Other than that....get the knitting needles out and make her a jumper for the winter  :icon_cheers:
« Last Edit: August 15, 2013, 00:06:16 by goodlife »

Number Six

  • Half Acre
  • ***
  • Posts: 101
  • Lincolnshire
    • Number Six
Re: Hen losing feathers
« Reply #5 on: August 15, 2013, 07:59:01 »
Many thanks Goodlife for such excellent advice - lots to think about there. Confess I've never wormed any of my chickens so that could be the best starting point. As for the knitting needles... :drunken_smilie:

Melbourne12

  • Global Moderator
  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 2,760
  • Harrow, Middx
    • Allotmenteering Blog
Re: Hen losing feathers
« Reply #6 on: August 15, 2013, 17:38:20 »
Everything Goodlife has said is good advice, so I'll just add a couple of things.

In order to supplement the vitamins, try swapping to "breeders pellets" or "breeders mash".  These feeds are intended both to ensure fertility (which you're not bothered about) and also to keep the birds in top show condition, including plumage.  Personally I use Allen & Page Breeders Pellets and Garvo Breeders Mash all year round if I can get them.

Even during the summer, giving them a cabbage or broccoli "treat" is a good idea to top up natural vitamins.

Finally, if you haven't wormed your hens, you really need to.  There are various herbal remedies, but nothing works like Fubenvet, which comes as a white powder.  You mix a small scoop (provided in the package) with 5kgs of feed, and keep them on that treated feed for a week.  You can continue to eat the eggs.

(Warning: Do not get even a trace of Flubenvet on your fingers, then eat a sandwich.  I have found this out the hard way.  But at least I'm free from worms.)

 

anything
SimplePortal 2.3.5 © 2008-2012, SimplePortal