Molting, over mating, or lice?

[Hua]

Hi! One of my girls has been looking a bit rough lately and I’m wondering what’s the cause. I’m not sure if she’s molting, over mated or has lice. She’s missing feathers behind her head and is looking patchy on her back.

Most of the girls went though a molt in October/November and have been laying again, so I’m not sure if she’s late molting. She is also a favorite among the roosters so maybe over mating. I checked her for lice and I didn’t see any but another girl definitely has them (enough that she lost a small patch of feathers on her back).

What do you guys think? I have a saddle I can put on her for over mating if I need too.

 

[Gray Farms]

Check around her vent for lice, this is where they congregate the most. It looks like over mating to me. Back of the head and lower back is usually over mating but not always.

 

[Welshies]

It looks like overmating to me. How many roos do you have? Hens?

 

[Hua]

It looks like overmating to me. How many roos do you have? Hens?

Right now there are 14 hens and currently 3 Roos. We culled 2 earlier this week that were from a batch of late summer chicks. I will definitely put a saddle on her tomorrow.

 

[Ridgerunner]

If one has mites or lice they all do. You need to treat them all.

That sure looks like damage from mating, but I'm not ready to call it over-mating. I suspect it's from the two cockerels you just removed. Hens often don't squat for cockerels so the cockerels get physical. That kind of damage is not that unusual when you deal with cockerels. I'm not sure what kind of interaction was going on down there. Usually an older rooster will stop the cockerels from doing that. Usually if a cockerel starts bothering her my hen runs to a mature rooster and let him handle it. I'm assuming this damage is new.

Another thought is bad technique. It's possible one of your mature roosters is causing that problem because he doesn't know what he is doing. Quite possibly the hen does not respect him enough so he has to force her. Usually that the rooster at the bottom of the rooster hierarchy. The hens usually prefer the stronger ones. If you can, observe them and try to determine which one it might be. That way you don't just kill a random rooster and not stop the problem.

I'm not sure what your goals are or why you want three roosters. I generally suggest you keep as few roosters as you can and still meet your goals. That's not because you are guaranteed problems with more roosters, just that problems are more likely. I'm not one to believe in that 10 to 1 hen to rooster ratio or civilization as we know it will forever change, I've seen too much evidence that disproves that. I've had three roosters with fifteen hens without damage like that. One member on here free ranges a lot of flocks, basically lets them sort it out naturally. His average flock size is one rooster and seven hens.

This damage is unlikely to heal until she molts, though it might. If a small part of the feather is left behind, she will not grow a new feather until she molts. If the entire shaft is gone she should regrow the feathers soon. If the damage gets worse now that the cockerels are gone I'd look really hard at those three roosters.

 

[Welshies]

I'd cut it down to two roos.

 

[chickens really]

Breeding damage...

 

[aart]

If molting you'd see pin feathers coming in,
part feathers carefully and look for them.
Google for pics of pin feathers.


Always good to check for bugs.
Google images of lice/mites and their eggs before the inspection so you'll know what you're looking for.

Best done well after dark with a strong flashlight/headlight, easier to 'catch' bird and also to check for the mites that live in structure and only come out at night to feed off roosting birds.

Wipe a white paper towel along the underside of roost to look for red smears(smashed well fed mites).

Part the feathers right down to the skin around vent, head/neck and under wings.

If you do find some...check out this thread:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1134783/permethrin-spray

 

[Hua]

We originally had 2 roosters but we had a lot of chickens this summer. 5 roos and 2 girls made it. We’ve culled 3 and now are left with 3 roosters. The owner really wants to keep one of the new roosters because he’s a neat looking polish mix. I’m not ready to put down one of the old boys yet since the young rooster is still learning.

Although I might keep all 3 depending on how they do. The chickens are free range and can go as far as they want. The only predators are mongoose and they only kill chicks. Now that we have 3 roosters groups of hens go further with a rooster accompanying them.

I’m guessing the feather loss is from the cockerels being rough. She didn’t have this issue before the young ones came of age. Since we culled most of them hopefully it will be resolved. I’ll put a saddle on her for now.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Chullicken]

Looks like a breeding issue to me. I've had the same issue and would imagine anyone who keeps roosters will or has experienced it. Chickens really frustrate me with their biological makeup..they'll look all scraggly until their next molt and all that damage grows back in. Until then, we sit and wait staring at the train wreck. =)