Can anyone identify this

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Pixieswift

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Can anyone identify this
« on: December 22, 2011, 19:54 »
Hi all, i wonder if you might be able to help with this i might be being over sensative but i know my girls VERY well and see a change in behaviour straight away...My beautiful large red sussex who is the boss of all 4 girls ( no boys ) is acting very strange she is also losing all of her feathers at the back of her neckand under her ears i am worried as her behaviour is odd she always without fail always comes to greet me and she is not doing that for the past couple of days and she seems really nervous and a little jumpy at the moment which is so unlike her as she is always brave and exploring and when she finds food she takes on the role of cockerel shouting to the others to come and eat...she seems a little withdrawn and her comb and wattles look slightly paler (but this may be the weather do they go paler in the winter). I'm sure she is not moulting as it is rather late and it is just in this one spot. I'm thinking could she be being picked on but thats VERY unlikley as she is the boss and always has been she is eating and drinking but why would she be so nervous all of a sudden the free range in a secure wood and its hen paradise in so what could this be any ideas PLEASE!!!!!

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Tony H

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Re: Can anyone identify this
« Reply #1 on: December 23, 2011, 07:29 »
it sounds like mites if you hold hr and move her fethers at the base of the neck you should see them but you wont be able to see fleas, i would give all your girls a good dusting in mite powder and spray the inside of the hen house, i dont know how often you do yor chucks but i every 3 monthes to make sure, red mite also do a lot of harm, hope this helps and your girl recovers. :blink:
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Sassy

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Re: Can anyone identify this
« Reply #2 on: December 23, 2011, 08:19 »
I'm unsure from your post and you may not have meant that it is red mite that Pixieswift may find on her chook but red mite don't live on the bird but in nooks and crannies in the hen house. It is certainly worth checking her for lice which do live on the chook. To check for red mite fold a piece of white paper and run it back and forth along joins and overlaps of wood, if it comes out red it is likely to be red mite. Red mite aren't usually a problem and this time of the year but it has been exceptionally mild in some areas. :)
Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted!!

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Pixieswift

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Re: Can anyone identify this
« Reply #3 on: December 23, 2011, 20:53 »
Hi guys i need to have another check of her to check for mites its bizarre as its only her neck feathers and under her ear lobes come to mention it she is shaking her head alot and scratching but i dust them at least once every 6/8 weeks with nettex mite kill powder and there house once a week i take out dirty little daily and put fresh in. I will have another good look at her in the morning and give them all a good dusting. If it was red might would all of my girls not be suffering and i have heard they wouldnt want to go to bed mine are always in no bother and in no rush to get out when i open up first thing. It could well be she is scratching her own feathers out because she is itchy but i would be suprised if it was mites as i do look after them very well much better than i look after the other half  :) and do hen only moult once she couldnt be moulting this time of year could she????

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viettaclark

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Re: Can anyone identify this
« Reply #4 on: December 24, 2011, 01:14 »
It could easily be a partial moult!
Hens moult all year round and one of mine has lost her fluffy bum feathers, head and neck feathers. Looked very strange....
Look in the coop and see if you can see the tiny clear sheathes that fall off the growing feathers. Sure sign.

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Pixieswift

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Re: Can anyone identify this
« Reply #5 on: December 24, 2011, 09:21 »
Hi Viettaclark thanks for your reply i was just about to post a question on here asking can hens moult more than once and in DECEMBER...Back in the spring she had her first ever moult as she is only 1 she lost only her tail feathers and a few around her neck. when i went out this morning her house was FULL of feathers and my little BANTAM her feathers were everywhere. I have watched them cleaning and all there  feathers are coming out when they are having a clean or a dust bath. the back of her neck her hackle part is bald just little tubes left which i presme is the quill as there is a little feather starting to poke through some of them do you still think it could be mites or a partial moult does she not know its going to get very cold here in Scotland VERY soon. I have given them all a good powder down tyhis morning which they hate but job done. I thought they only moulted once and my little bantam Gladys has moulted in the spring and a couple of months ago first her tail and head then her wings now its all her wee fluffy feathers the last time it was the big hard feathers thanks for your help this site it such a life line  ;) ;) ;)

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ANHBUC

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Re: Can anyone identify this
« Reply #6 on: December 24, 2011, 21:22 »
Some of mine have done a partial moult and then a full moult about 6 weeks later.  I have one black rock which is really suffering at the moment.  She normally fits in the pecking order fine but I have had to separate her during the day for 2 days this week as she was being bullied to the degree that she was weak from not eating or drinking enough.  I put her back to roost on a night and she stayed with the flock today.  I am just keeping an eye on her and will separate her again if I feel she not holding her own.  She is looking really scraggly at the moment but has been in a very slow moult.
Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens!
Bagpuss RIP 1992 - June 2012, 1 huge grass carp (RIP "Jaws" July 2001 - December 2011), 4 golden orfe, 1 goldfish and 1 fantail fish (also huge)! plus 4 Italian quail, 1 Japanese quail, 1 Rosetta quail.



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