I HAVE A FLOCK OF 24 RHODE ISLAND REDS AND 1 ROOSTER. WITHIN THE LAST 2WEEKS I HAVE NOTED FEATHER LOSS ON THE ROOSTER BY THE TAIL. NOW SEVERAL HENS HAVE FEATHER LOSS ON THE BACK BY THE TAIL. IN ADDITION THE ROOSTER AND SEVERAL OTHER HENS SHOW A RED INFLAMMATION UNDER THE TAIL. THERE ARE NO SIGNS OF LOOSE DROPPINGS.
I USE A COMBINATION OF SCRATCH GRAINS AND SOUTHERN STATES XLA (CRUMBLES). WATER IS CHANGED EACH DAY AND THEY ARE NOT HAVING ANY TROUBLE WITH A CONSTANT EGG PRODUCTION.

Gary,
We have an assorment of chickens, and our speckled sussex roster has had the same problem that you describe since last fall! He never really gets worse, just that loss of feathers aound the tail and the skin is very red. At first we though he was molting, but I'm sure it wouldn't take him six months too finish!
All of our hens look fine. I'd love to hear a response on this too!
Hope your chickens are looking better.
Beth

BETH,
Thanks for the info. I have separated the rooster and his condition is no worse. It almost looks like the feathers are coming back but he is as bright red as ever. I even tried neosporin on the affected area but it did not seem to help or hurt. Some of the hens have feathers removed on their back at the base of the tail but no signs of redness or irritation. I have tried to alter my feeding habits to "unbore" the chickens and this may have helped (?). At least it is no worse on the hens.

If the redness is around the vent onboth hens and cocks, it is probably mites. Look for VERY small whitish bugs crawling around the vent area. The discomfort causes them to pull their own feathers to try and get rid of the mites. If you find ANY mites, dust every single bird with sevin ASAP and again in two weeks to get any newly hatched eggs. You will probabaly want to clean and dust the coop as well. Good luck!

THE REDNESS WAS ONLY ON THE ROOSTER AND AFTER SEPARATING HIM FROM THE FLOCK AND TREATING HIM ONE TIME WITH NEOSPORIN. THE REDNESS HAS FADED AND FEATHERS ARE STARTING TO GROW BACK.

Hay Markl,
Thanks for pointing out the fact that the feathers could be comming out because of mites. My chickens too were loosing their feathers and the skin was red, So I went to check them and sure enough they had bugs crawling all over the rear Or is it the vent area. What does vent mean? So I took your advice and went right down to the store and got some sevin. I also took out all the shavings on the ground and did a real good dusting and cleaning of the coop. I had a question, on the chickens feathers were the mites are there is like a crust on the feather close to the skin, is this mite eggs? and should I dust them a couple of times to get rid of these eggs(if they are eggs)and how often do you dust chickens as a mattence thing once I get rid of the mites? and one more question, can these mites go on my other animals?(goats,pot bellied pigs, dogs&cats)Thanks for such great info, my chickens would realy like to thank you.
thanks Again, Debbie

Debbie, Pull the feathers with the crusts off--or take a scissors and cut them close to get rid of the crusty stuff. The dust can't really reach in and if any eggs hatch the dust may be gone-it has reach the mites to smother them. It will reduce the need for more Sevin--always like to use as little of poisons as possible. The vent is the opening for the poop/eggs, and if it is raw or bleeding, puff some wound powder on, as it is sometimes slow to heal. CJR

Cjeanr,
Thanks for answering. Do you know if the crust stuff on the feathers are eggs or not? I will cut the feathers tonight. Boy are my girls happy now that they dont itch. They had alot on them. I didnt even think to look, boy do I love having this Coop to go in to it sure answers alot of questions that I never even thought about. When I dusted them I used an old katsup squirt bottle to get the dust way up in there, I didnt just dust them I covered them, I was a little afraid I might have put to much but they are doing fine. Also do you know if those bugs can get on my other animals? Thanks again for answering me.
Debbie

Debbie, There may be eggs within the crusts. The crusts are not eggs. Don't overdo the dust, but take a look in about 2 weeks, and see if there are any more creepies. I use an old hair color plastic bottle with a snout nose on it to puff the dust under the feathers. It isn't easy to get into the bottle, cut a funnel of paper does the job. The mites probably came from wild birds or ??? They are bird specific, and while they may crawl on you on other animals that have direct contact, and tickle, they do not live on other species and will wash off of your hands or arms and will not stay on you or your other animals--except cage birds--if you have them, treat the same as poultry. Happy freedom from mites!!!!CJR

You might want to consider dusting your rooster on a regular basis (every month or two?) or as required. Because of the way chickens mate, if the rooster gets mites, EVERYONE gets mites. We have had several roosters pick up mites from shows and fairs (mites crawl around alot at night and can travel all around the coop, etc) so we usually dust the roosters after we get home. There is less chance of you eating sevin covered eggs that way too.

Thank you everyone for the great advice. I will dust the rooster every month or two. I also tried to cut the feathers off the chickens but the crust is to close to the skin and I am afraid I might cut them. So I gues if these are eggs I will just have to watch and see if they get anymore and dust them again. Thanks again.
Debbie

Debbie, You can pull the feathers out-ouchie, but it gets rid of them, or cut through the crusts leaving only a dusty bit. If you leave them there, the poop may stick to it, and as Markl suggests, even if the rooster is clear of them, he can get them from the hens--so do your best to get rid of them, bit by bit, if necessary. CJR

CJR, O.K. I went ahead and started pulling the feathers and it is not so bad, they come out pretty easy. I do a little bit each night so I dont get them real sore. Thanks. Debbie