Bald Chicken

[AnyaTotoro]

I have a 4yo hen who has a lot of bald spots. At first I thought she was molting, but I’m not seeing any new feather growth, especially now that she just started laying eggs again. The other chickens are fine, and just in case have all been treated for mites, lice, and worms. When I inspected her closely, it looks like she has plugs in her feather pores, like they are clogged or something, which they have looked like that for weeks. Any ideas what’s going on? Are her feather pores clogged with something or are all those “plugs” broken feathers or something weird? I have search for answers and read everything I can find on chicken features and diseases/issues with no luck on anything helpful or similar.

 

[PippinTheChicken]

Have you checked you coop and run for mites/lice? Do you have a rooster? How large is your coop and run and how many birds do you have?

 

[coach723]

PIctures of the bird might help, whole body, and close ups of the 'plugs' you describe.

 

[AnyaTotoro]

Here are some pictures of the weird clogs in her feather pores… please let me know if you know what they are. Sadly her neck looks bad right now, because I think she got sunburned the other day when we let her loose in the backyard (we’ve been trying to keep her in the shaded run until her neck looks better). Below are some pictures.

1 month ago

Yesterday

Close up of belly bald spot

 

[coach723]

I think those are just broken feather shafts, with some scabs. My guess is that she's being feather picked, likely on the roosts at night. How many birds do you have in how much space? The roost layout may be a contributor also. She may be a lower pecking order bird who's getting picked by others. Often the most pristine looking bird is the one doing it. Try to do some observing when they go to roost, see if that's what's going on. Sometimes changing the roost layout can help a lot. She probably won't feather out until she molts.

 

[AnyaTotoro]

We only have two hens in a enclosure that is about 400sqft. She is the alpha hen (top of pecking order). The other hen cuddles up and under her at night on top of the coop. They like to roost on top of the coop not in it.

 

[coach723]

What did you treat for lice/mites with?
I zoomed in on your pictures and looked a lot closer.
I see a couple of spots that I've circled below, can you tell what that is at the base of the feather shafts?

Depluming mites are a possibility, they are microscopic and burrow into the skin and the base of the feather shafts, the irritation can be so severe that the birds will pluck their own feathers trying to get relief. Most common treatment is ivermectin.
https://tvmdl.tamu.edu/2020/10/05/depluming-mites-in-birds/
https://wagwalking.com/bird/condition/depluming-scabies
This link has some dosing info for ivermectin:
https://bitchinchickens.com/2019/04/29/ivermectin-for-parasite-control/comment-page-1/
The article also talks about using ivermectin for other worms, I would not use it for those, some parasites are becoming resistant to it. But it should be effective for depluming mites. You may need to treat several times to get them all.
If you have elector PSP (it's very expensive) it is purported to also work on depluming mites.

 

[AnyaTotoro]

FYI, shortly after posting this tread (~June 11th), she started laying eggs again for about a week or two, and now she is molting and all those bald spots are full of new feather spikes! So those weird plugs/clogs must of been broken feather shafts as previously mentioned. She now looks like a very healthy and happy girl! Thank you for all the responses and help!

 

[PippinTheChicken]

FYI, shortly after posting this tread (~June 11th), she started laying eggs again for about a week or two, and now she is molting and all those bald spots are full of new feather spikes! So those weird plugs/clogs must of been broken feather shafts as previously mentioned. She now looks like a very healthy and happy girl! Thank you for all the responses and help!

Glad they're growing back!