Bald Chicken!

tonette · #1 (**permalink**) 04-11-2009, 08:05 PM

Hi I have 2 chickens Dolly and Mabel, Dolly started to mault last week and now she looks a sorry state! her rear end is bald and she is going bald round her neck she looks like she has lost loads of feathers all over her body! Is this mating? Mabel is okay..... my chickens are pets and we get an egg every day off Mabel but Dolly has stopped laying

Little Missy · #2 (**permalink**) 08-11-2009, 10:58 AM

Do you have a (cock) male in with them?
If so, then excessive mating can result in feather loss. If this is the case you will either need to increase the number of hens, or get rid of the cock.

If not then the problem could be mites.
Get a piece of white kitchen towel and rub under the perch, it red dots appear on the paper towel they're red mites.
Red Mites feed on the hens at night when they're perching and suck they're blood. So when the mites are full they will be red in colour. When they're empty they can range from being yellowish-white, to light brown-black.
If you see this treat your birds with louse powder as soon as possible.

Good Luck.

x

Cascara · #3 (**permalink**) 11-11-2009, 04:48 PM

Not mating Moulting. Its normal and happens every year. Stress can bring on an early moult or make them lose even more feathers more quickly. Make sure they have lots of protein to make new feathers with. Layers Pellets and Poultry Spice will healp. The new feathers should be growing very soon. During the moult they rarely lay, but some do whatever lol.

tonette · #4 (**permalink**) 12-11-2009, 12:51 PM

Thank you for replying. she is not losing so many feathers now just looks a bit tatty! I have checked for red mites can't see any, and we don't have a cockerel just the 2 hens.... so it must be the moult. They are fed layers pellets and I mix corn in with that. they also have regular vegetables plus I mash them the potato peelings with veg! but I will get them some poultry spice.... It was quite worrying because she looks bald in places!!!!

Cascara · #5 (**permalink**) 12-11-2009, 06:12 PM

Be careful with the mashed veggies they are carbohydrate not protein so will fill them up cheaply but not provide enough good stuff to make nice feathers

terry_flowers · #6 (**permalink**) 12-11-2009, 09:13 PM

I had a similar problem with my hen 'Padame' a few months back. Im afraid i dont have advice on what you should do, but i can tell you for a fact that hair growth lotion from Boots does not work! Since following the instructions on the packet, and bathing her in it, Padame went TOTALLY bald and now hates daylight. I also thought I heard her make a very strange sound once, that sounded almost like laughing.

tonette · #7 (**permalink**) 13-11-2009, 07:55 AM

thank you for the advice about mashed veggies, didn't know that... I will limit that to a once a week treat oh some one said to try tuna in oil which I did but mine didn't like it!
As for bathing her, I wouldn't dare never mind about trying shampoo on her she would attack me

Cascara · #8 (**permalink**) 13-11-2009, 11:44 AM

Do you have a cat? Try some crushed dried cat food, high in protein. And don't use people lotions or shampoo on her, they are the wrong ph and will hurt more than heal.

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