Mattered feathers on chest

[pottyaboutveg]

Hi,

Can anyone help me, I have 6 chickens in total 5 hens and 1 cockrell. The 3 young hens approx 28 weeks and the cock bird were hatched out by one of the older hens. When I picked up Tilly today (28wks) I noticed that her breast feathers were mattered and dirty (grey looking) I instantly put mite powder on (and also did the others) but I am conserned as I have looked on the web and they say that mites are usually around the vent area??????

I have had an idea, could it be happening, because the cock bird is getting very frisky now?????

Please some one help

Glen

[MaureenHall]

Hi and welcome to the vine.

Could it be that the chook has laid on an egg and broken it so that there's egg white/yolk on her that's then got soil / dirt in it? That's the only thing I can think of really but no doubt someone else will perhaps have other ideas. Will be interesting to find out though

[di]

I would have thought that if it were due to the cockerel then the problem would be around the back of her neck,although I don't have experience keeping cockerals so maybe I'm wrong.
Probably more like Maureen says that maybe some broken egg or other foodstuff has got into her feathers.

[pottyaboutveg]

Thank you very much for you thoughts, and welcoming to the site, but the other hens look as though they are getting it too.

The worst one is Tilly, her feathers are all mattered and very mucky (I suppose this could be to do with the fact that where they bathe is very dirty at present but the feathers look grey instead of the brown. and it seems to be happening on all of the other hens. I am going to change the their bath containers with some fresh sand to see it that helps. They all look well other than that.

Thank you for your help again

Regards Potty

[lynda66]

when a cock mounts them they will sink down onto the ground, so if it's muddy, that will probably be the cause, especially if they are all getting it.

[Bephlam]

every single thread I come to Lynda is talking about cocks!

Puleeasssee!!!

[lynda66]

i've got them on the brain now .... must be some kind of obsession

[Flummery]

I read something about this on a poultry forum recently. I think it was due to their recently coming into lay. They get the breast feathers abraded by shuffling about in the next box when laying. A bit like the way a broody will lose breast feathers from rubbing against the eggs. Keep an eye on them but it might not be anything to worry about.

[pottyaboutveg]

Thank you very much Flummery I think what you said could be the case as the problem seems more on the young birds than the older two, and the younger ones are coming into lay. Thank you for your help and also I will keep a close eye on them. I am hopeless as I worry about them more than if they were children.

I look over the fence at my neighbours chicks and wonder why ours got this problem as I am forever cleaning them out, changing bedding, swilling down, infecting everything and they seem as though they just let them get on with it.

Thank you again. Potty

[Nicos]

every single thread I come to Lynda is talking about cocks!

Puleeasssee!!!

well- it makes a change from underpants!!!!

[Flummery]

My son and his lady came to stay for the weekend. They had our bedroom and we had the sofa bed. He came down on Sunday morning complaining that his mum had a magazine full of pictures of big cocks by the bed. He'd been reading my Practical Poultry!

[MaureenHall]

Oh shock horror!!!! Flum having "those" magazines in her bedroom!

That made me laugh so loud it scared the cat