Adam Brunning Posted June 15, 2020 Share Posted June 15, 2020 Hi everyone, I am a relatively newbie to the chicken keeping world, and I really hope you lovely people can offer some advice! We have had our four girls for a year and so have seen all four seasons with them. However, one of them, our Suffolk Brown started around 8-9 weeks ago losing some feathers on the left hand breast (as you look at her). It was fairly slow and only appears to be the top layer. We have been super lucky over the year not to have red mite at all until in January where we discovered a small infestation, after a lot of hard work we are super confident that we eradicated them (we think it was because we put a felt roof on top of there wooden house, to help stop leaks!) I have given her a good going over and can't see any red mite or lice on her, she has also continued to lay throughout the whole year also. Her other feathers are lovely and fluffy and her comb is lovely and red. I have heard that chickens can moult but think this maybe the wrong time of the year? Could this be pruning to help with the heat? The three others haven't lost any feathers like her. I can't see that any others are "bullying" her and plucking them out. Any thoughts/ advice would be truly gratefully received! Ive attached some photos of her, where hopefully you can see the large white patch?! Thanks Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 That looks like she has a prominent crop Adam, and is just rubbing them off against a feeder or similar. As an aside..... be aware that chicken wire isn't predator-proof, it is for keeping chickens off yer veg. Good strong weldmesh is needed for a run or enclosure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Brunning Posted June 16, 2020 Author Share Posted June 16, 2020 Thank you so much for coming back to me and genuinely hadn’t even thought of this. I’ve just had a good google of it and can see that there are treatments available including trying to massage it to help clear it. I understand if left untreated it could be fatal? What would you recommend I do? Also huge thanks for the info around the wire..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 Have a feel of her crop so we can see what the problem is - in the morning it should be empty, in the evening it should feel full and 'grainy' from their feed. Or it could feel squishy like a balloon full of liquid. We'll go form there. It may just be that her crop is more prominent than usual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Brunning Posted June 16, 2020 Author Share Posted June 16, 2020 (edited) Thank you! I tried desperately to catch her this morning but no luck! Picked her up this evening and followed some videos I had seen. I could definitely feel the crop and whilst it was large, it did feel grainy (not surprised with a belly full of food!) but after a while she really didn’t like me feeling it and could tell she didn’t like it at all. Both my partner and I will try again either in the morning or another morning to catch her and feel then. Think I’m only going to know that way! If only I could put across how worried I am! (Or perhaps it’s does show...) Edited June 16, 2020 by Adam Brunning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 The key (as you said) is to get familiar with how the crop feels/should feel at different times of the day. Report back tomorrow and we'll go from there. Get used to doing a top-to-toe health check on each bird each month, one of my videos here and then you'll know what's normal for each of them; it's one of the first things I teach on my courses.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Brunning Posted June 18, 2020 Author Share Posted June 18, 2020 On 6/16/2020 at 10:35 PM, The Dogmother said: The key (as you said) is to get familiar with how the crop feels/should feel at different times of the day. Report back tomorrow and we'll go from there. Get used to doing a top-to-toe health check on each bird each month, one of my videos here and then you'll know what's normal for each of them; it's one of the first things I teach on my courses.. Thanks again. I got really worried yesterday and booked a vets appointment yesterday to help me, and in my mind, she had a blocked crop and it had to be cleared. I had 1/2 hour to collect her and transport her to the vets... safe to say it didn't happen. The girls just haven't been used to me picking them up over the last few months and as such I need to build there trust again. I also realised that I needed to stop panicking and it was probably a blessing in disguise that I didn't take her to the vets to put her through even more stress and I need to keep an eye but perhaps she just has a more prominent crop compared to the others. She is eating, drinking, laying, running around and poohing (which all looks fine - not runny, etc.) She's been like this for the last 6-8 weeks and from what I know about chickens, if there was a serious problem, it would have developed by now. I watched your video on a health check - super helpful and I did this when she had been on the roost for around ten or so minutes two nights ago. Apart from the feathers, all perfectly normal and her crop was full (but only because she had been eating all day). We noticed you do courses and both my husband and I are definitely going to come along on to the advanced chicken course - something we realise that we need to be more confident. Thanks for all your help and advice to date and hopefully see you soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 It would be lovely to see you both on the course Adam; it will give you the confidence to handle your hens and know what's right and what isn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
