we have four hens approx 2 yrs old. they've had white flakes (like dandruff) all over their bodies for approx a month. any ideas?
also, we've only gotten 2 eggs in the past 3 weeks. I know production slows during winter but from 2-3 a day to 2-3 a month seems strange. is this normal? thanks!
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Now that you brought this to my attention, some hens I just added to the flock have the same thing going on. I thought their feathers were dull from being older. I'll be dusting them soon. Let me know if your treatment works. The new hens have their own coop, so I hope it hasn't spread too much yet.
I agree with Zach that they probably have either poultry lice or mites. I have treated this in my hens by generously dusting them in food grade diatomatious earth. I have found the easiest way to do this is to put a cup of DE into an old knee high stocking and tie the end. Then I sit with the hen facing me in my lap and dust her all over, especially under her wings, belly and rump. then I sprinkle a generous amount of DE in all their favorite dust bathing spots. You will need to do this every day for several days. If this is ineffective you may have to bathe them in an anti-mite, anti-lice treatment that can be purchased at the feed store. I'd try the DE first as its more natural and it usually works, then do the pesticide as a last resort. You will also need to spread the dust all over their coop to kill the lice.
Let us know how its going. They may actually be moulting, or they may just be losing feathers as a result of the lice infestation. It will be interesting to see if their feathers and production pick back up after they are treated.
Zachary is right about the light. We have a fluorescent on ours from 4am on, so they're getting about 11.5 hours of light. We added the light about 3 weeks ago and went from an average of 4 eggs/day to 7 from our 9 hens. 7 is pretty much full production since hens take days off once in a while. :)
Don't freak out, but you should look up poultry lice symptoms. Then inspect your birds to rule it out. If it seems to be poultry lice, then spend some time figuring out what the best course of treatment will be. Until then, it could just be part of a molt.
As far as the laying goes, do you have any lights on them? They need to think it is light out longer than it actually is right now to lay daily. I have a few lights on mine (CFLs, no heat) from 5:30 a.m. to sunrise, and from before sunset to 7:30 p.m., giving them 14 hours of daylight and 10 dark. I get about 1 egg per day from every hen that is old enough to lay.
1 is molting now - 1 molted a couple weeks ago - all 4 have dandruff