Pro - Does anyone else's nest boxes get soaked in rain?

[nippylou]

Hi everyone, what a lovely day it's been!

 

Just hoping someone might be able to help me.

 

I've got four chucks, had them for 18 months and they are in a cube.

One of them lost some feathers around her tail last year and i put that down to pecking as she is definately bottom of the pecking order. Her skin then went bright red and dry to touch.

I checked and found no sign of lice or mites on her or in the cube. The feather loss got much worse and her entire bottom in bald and bright red.

 

Now the others have all gone the same to different degrees.

On two it's very mild just a few feathers around the tale but on the others the baldness goes right around the abdomen and under the wings. I'm assuming that it must be something lice/mite wise but can't see anything at all. They have dirty vent feathers too and sometimes there is blood around the tail feathers (one had a bleeding vent once too - she is top chuck). When i see any blood, which is rarely, i spray them with gentian violet.

 

I dusted them all with mite powder and gave the cube a good blast (we've got the plastic bars) and disinfect.

I can find no evidence of anything. They all seem themselves and it really doesn't seem to trouble them. In fact a few feathers have come back on some of them but it's still an issue.

 

Any one had a similar problem? I'm still getting eggs (although one is now broody and the others can't get in to lay and I can't find where they are going!! Will they definately still be laying?? We're only getting one egg a day now, I assume that's from the broody one??!!)

 

Please help!

 

Thanks

[Egluntyne]

My girls have had exactly the same thing. I have tried every remedy known to man.

 

I resorted to fitting bumper bits on all of them about 10 days ago, as I decided it must be because of covert feather pecking.

 

I must have been right, as there is a huge improvement already.

[Olly]

Isn't it weird, how you never SEE them pecking feathers!