Chicken bald back

[Janine and chickens]

Hi,

 

I have just started keeping chickens, I have just restored an old oak Coop and have been given (ten days ago) two 2 year old chickens. The chickens were very happy to start with and would always be very close together, even when free ranging in the garden. Over the last week I have seen a lot of feathers in their run and Coop and on inspection they have lice. So on Saturday I covered each bird in lice powder. Since then the more dominant bird has been horrible to the other, chasing her, pecking her and not letting her out of the Coop. Since Saturday the weaker bird has lost a lot more feathers off her back, wings and neck. The feathers are snapped and I think the more dominant bird is doing it. Can anyone suggest why this may of happened and how I can stop it?

 

Thanks in advance!

[gavclojak]

If they have a heavy lice infestation I would invest in some *ivermectin based spot on and use it every few month not only to treat but to prevent infestations

*not licensed for use on poultry

Are you sure it's feather Pecking and not a moult? If it's feather pecking then you will need to take action to stop it as it can become a huge problem. Make sure they have enough room, a feeder each and some distractions and places for the hen to escape to. If it continues you may need to try bumpa bits. This may have happened because they are stress by the lice so resolve that first.

[Janine and chickens]

Thanks for your prompt and helpful reply.

 

I don't think the lice infestation is too bad as although I found a few lice (and a few fell off when I dusted them down) I did not find any large egg clusters. This does not mean there aren't any as I am still getting used to handling the girls but I will check again today when I re lice powder them. I see you mention a *ivermectin based spot on treatment, I have seen this mentioned quite a lot but how do I make a decision if to use it or not if it is not licences for hens? Can I still eat the eggs if I use it, what are the downsides of using it?

 

I did wonder if the loss of feathers may just be the moult to start with but the base of the feathers are still in the bird so they are not dropping out naturally, I wil look into bumper bits, I have not heard of those and add extra food/water bowl. The run is 4 square metres and the Coop is 3 square metres so I think they have plenty of room, they also have logs to play on. I will add a dust bath and a few other bits to try and keep them entertained.

 

Could the application of lice powder have made them loose their scent and they have had to re sort the pecking order? It's strange how the aggression started so promptly after applying lice powder.

 

Sorry for all the questions!

[gavclojak]

I have never used live powder so am unsure.

As for the use of ivermectin it's a win win! Easy to use, helps prevent a whole host of nasties, the only negative is an egg withdrawal period of a week. I personally use this along side flubenbet as a preventive and touch wood I have not had any problems.

 

It's available from your vet or flyte so fancy

 

I have had this problem , I had 6 ex commercial girls and they were happy as Larry till one day they all set about one poor girl, I actually never discovered a reason for it. Maybe your girl feels settled and wants to assert her authority.

 

I would only consider bumps bits as a last resort to be honest.

[sjp]

if they're starting to moult then that could well be the reason of the fall out. it's a very painful and stressful time and not all birds handle it very well and some of the little madams take advantage to settle scores or just be down right nasty to hens that are suffering, normally the lower ranking girls trying to move up the pecking order

the resent move could also play a part as that's also a point of stress and 10 days is about the point a more confident bolder hen will start to settle after a move.as long as no blood is drawn then it's no to much of a problem as long as the target is getting too eat and drink if it's getting out of hand pick the bully up and carry her about for a 2 or 3 mins it help the other one get a feed a drink plus it'll show the other one your the boss but not if their moulting and growing feathers through other than a last result

[Janine and chickens]

Oh thank you, it's good to know this behaviour maybe normal. I think things have settled a bit today so will just observe for a while as long as there is no blood. I might try the lice drops on the back of the neck too as it sounds less stressful for the girls this time.

 

Thanks again to all for the kind and helpful advice.