4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Clucking_Mad]

Hi, my black rock Vera has a very bald neck. She has lost all her feathers from the front of her neck and is now losing feathers from her crop all the way down and under her.The skin is not red or sore looking and there is no bleeding. She eats plenty and is very active and is still laying lovely eggs.

 

I have checked her over for lice and mites and she has none and all my girls were wormed at the beginning of March with Flubevent.

 

She didn't moult over the winter could this be a delayed moult or is it something else?

 

Any suggestions on what to do would be great as I am lost at what to do and bless her she looks so scruffy and I just want to do what ever I can to help my girls.

 

 

- Ethel, Blackrock - Vera and Warren - Phyllis

[dance in the dark]

I cannot offer too much help, but I wouldn't think it was a molt, normally before they start loosing feathers they spend a few days looking sorry for themselves, and when they go into molt even hybrids normally take a couple of weeks break from laying.

 

Have you found any evidence of feathers lying around the place? Is there any chance she has simply worn the feathers off by sticking her head through netting, fencing, etc? That can happen quite easily if it's a regular habit.

 

The only other thing I could think of is that she is plucking herself, or someone is plucking her, in which case I would just be vigilant.

 

Also, I know it isn't exactly the neck, but my bluebells often loose feathers on their front and underside, this can be a natural hormonal thing, and isn't anything to worry about they have little bald patches which, as you described, aren't sore or red, they are just there

[Clucking_Mad]

Thank you for the reply, the wire on our WIR is not big enough for them to get their heads through and I have been spending lots of time watching them lately and the other two girls are not pulling out her feathers and I haven't noticed Vera pulling out her own feathers.

 

This may sound silly but I never even thought to look for feathers in the run so I have just gone out to check and I can't find one feather and to be honest I don't remember ever seeing any of her feathers in the run.

 

To be honest my Vera sounds like your bluebelles I will just keep an eye on her and make sure these bald patches don't get sore.

 

Thank you for your help

[Duncan08]

I have two like this. One Gingernut and one Bluebell.

 

They started to lose feathers on the front of their necks when they moved into the WIR.

Originally I thought it might have been the drinker, that sits at an angle on the run, but on the WIR it is more upright, causing them to rub their necks on it.

So I swapped it for the big Glug that cam with the cube.

 

Still bare necked, I too have checked for mites, checked the skin for signs of damage but nothing. Watched for pecking, self inflicted or by the others, nothing.

 

Then I found a planter that was sat on the outside of the run with all of its plants missing! The little madams appear to have been straining through the weldmesh to eat anything they can hoover up.

 

The other girls do this aswell, but I think these two in particular seem to have particularly weak feather growth. Both of them have poor tails, Bluebell was the bullied bottom of the pack and her tail never recovered, Chilli's has always looked a bit straggly from when she first came, Chilli also bleeds from her tail feathers on occasion.

 

They all have the same diet and my pepperpot, araucana and vorwerk all have beautiful plumage, they do get supplements in the form of cider vinegar, poultry spice and garlic powder once a week so I don't think it is diet related. Other than being awful scruff bags, they are happy, chatty, hungry, good stools, laying well, so I have to admit I have stopped worrying about it.

 

They are 18 months old now so maybe if they have a moult they will come back beautiful, (or maybe end up baldy - better get the knitting needles out just in case!)

[Clucking_Mad]

Oh bless your girls Duncan they sound lovely and i'm sure my girls would poke their heads through the wire to get to the grass on the other side if the wire was big enough for their heads to get through

 

I'm just going to do my regular daily checks with them all as I aways do and not worry about her feather loss as she is still her happy self.

 

Thanks for the reply