[LOUISA]

Help please!  I have recently acquired 3 hens, two of whom of laying almost every day. The third one, Penny, not yet laying but it is younger we believe, and somewhat smaller but eats well and seems content. Problem: The last few mornings, when I let the hens out of their large henhouse, we have found lots of Penny's feathers and she is beginning to look very bedraggled.  No problems in day, no fighting between them, and they have lots of space outside with green food to peck at.  Any ideas why the other hen(s) are removing Penny's feathers?

[Aunt Sally]

Welcome to the forum Louisa

Or is Penny moulting  :?:

[muntjac]

check for blood on any parts of her .her neck tail she may be moulting and or being pecked .loads of feathers is the bird being bald with no other feathers coming through as they are being pulled out .. keep her away from the others until you can determine which it is , pecking is a boredom thing ,hang cabages or lettuces up on string to make them peck at .also check the bird for mites if she is heavy infested she may be pulling them out her self due to irritation hope this helps

[LOUISA]

Many thanks for tips. Don't think Penny is moulting as only happening at night when inside.  No blood or scratches.  Feathers not growing back, as yet anyway, so she looks baldish on front and back of her neck mainly. Will try separating her at night for a while, as suggested, and see what happens...

[muntjac]

better explain when i say seperate her i mean so the others can see her but not get to her use a wire fence of some sort to quarantine her

[Aunt Sally]

Yes... as muntjac says, otherwise you'll have problems reintroducing her.

[Foxy]

Hi
I was wondering -were your birds pullets? You mention bald around the neck feathers -and the fact this this bird may be younger than you think?
Sometimes they can go into a semi moult  which is evident around the neck- particulary young hens which are given layers mash/pellets a bit early. This may be the case is you feel that there is no evidence of fighting - and no signs of mites. I have found this in one of my girls -who I now think was practically a chick when i got her!!  

[muntjac]

some birds will moult fast and some slow they can decide themselves ,long moulers incidently are regarded by some keepers as poor egg layers ...  more rubbish if you ask me ,   long haired guys make better lovers  while punk rockers are gone home before they get thier socks on ,,,,,,,dont ya gree aidy  

[frazzy]

hiya if your hen is other wise healthy she could be going through the molt .its normal  dont worry read this  http://msucares.com/poultry/management/poultry_feathers.html

[LOUISA]

Again, thank you for all your advice - I am very impressed by all you knowlegeable people out there! I live in Spain and even here in the campo (countryside) no-one seemed able to help even though most live off the land so I found this site in the vain hope someone out there would advise.    
Penny had first night on her own yesterday, but she could see her pals through the wire, and this morning there were as many feathers as previously so she must be either moulting or removing them herself so that has answered one question at least!  I don't know how old she is, had her 4 weeks, and she's two-thirds as big as the others but not laying.  Would small "new-looking" feathers as well as the bigger tail feathers come out during moulting?
One other question - all three seem to eat such a lot and are always hungry!  I cook veg peelings and such and add pellets and grain - as a very basis rule of thumb how much should I give each of them a day?

[muntjac]

small new feathers , do they look like pin feathers . with a white  covering around the end that goes into the skin?. if so she may have mites and they wil cause her to itch badly , check her under the wings and her hocks ,under the chin .look for anything white moving .if you feel a sudden feeling of "nits " on your hands then it will probably be mites get her dusted and the others as well clean the shed the whole lot out , make a spray up of garlic cloves and mineral oil and spray this in all parts of the shed , after you have used jeyes in a water dilute sprayer and allowed the shed to dry out

 microwave a half dozen garlic cloves for 30 seconds and squeese into a bottle of mineral oil.. leave to perfuse for a month shaking every few days ,leave it on the window sill above the sink sao u see and shake it ...... strain into a sprayer .allowing no bits to get in or it wil block the sprayer.

[little miss muffat]

Hi muntjak is the spray for the birds or the shed    :?

[little miss muffat]

Im sorry i always gat your name wrong, im a terible speler anyway as you will see  :roll:

[muntjac]

dont worry about the spelling. im werser. the sprays are for the shed only . use the jeyes and let the shed  dry out then use the garlic one to control the remains they stick to the oil and the garlic kills em somehow .it was a sterilising thing in times gone by

[The Chicken Lady]

That's fantastic. I was just going to ask the same question about crawley things! So this will treat what - lice, fleas. red mite? Is the Jeys fluid safe to put the birds back into the shed that night? What's this mineral oil and where can I get it. On my way now to get some garlic.