I have a BR hen, 7-8 months old, who currently has bare patches under both wings. They've been there for the past month or so with no sign of new feather growth. The skin is red and looks irritated.
It doesn't appear to be a molt, though I do have one molting hen at the moment. This other hen started molting just after I noticed the BR's bare patches. I haven't noticed any picking either.
A third hen has developed a bare patch on her back as if from excessive mounting, though I don't have a rooster. But that hen's skin isn't irritated.
Their roost is a little cramped (they sometimes all sleep on the same one), but I'm not seeing these signs on other chickens.
This flock and coop are both new-ish with no history of mites. They have no access to wild birds. I did bring a couple hens to a county fair, so there has been a brief exposure to mites (though I was careful). That was a couple months ago.
On my last property and different flock I dealt with lice and red mites so I know the signs. However, I don't see any eggs or mites on my current birds. No others have irritated red skin. Have I just missed the signs? Could this be northern fowl mites? Or something else?
Pics 1 & 2 side profile
Pic 3 showing the vent, from a slight angle
Pics 4 & 5 showing the (same) bare patch
Pic 6 of the back of the different hen with the bare patch
It doesn't appear to be a molt, though I do have one molting hen at the moment. This other hen started molting just after I noticed the BR's bare patches. I haven't noticed any picking either.
A third hen has developed a bare patch on her back as if from excessive mounting, though I don't have a rooster. But that hen's skin isn't irritated.
Their roost is a little cramped (they sometimes all sleep on the same one), but I'm not seeing these signs on other chickens.
This flock and coop are both new-ish with no history of mites. They have no access to wild birds. I did bring a couple hens to a county fair, so there has been a brief exposure to mites (though I was careful). That was a couple months ago.
On my last property and different flock I dealt with lice and red mites so I know the signs. However, I don't see any eggs or mites on my current birds. No others have irritated red skin. Have I just missed the signs? Could this be northern fowl mites? Or something else?
Pics 1 & 2 side profile
Pic 3 showing the vent, from a slight angle
Pics 4 & 5 showing the (same) bare patch
Pic 6 of the back of the different hen with the bare patch
