Hope someone can help. Some of my chickens, not all, have raw necks under their beak or gullet. At first I thought it might be molting, but no. Then thought it might be that they are rubbing up against something in the coop. They are not sick, not lathergic, have good appetites, still laying eggs. But the other day, I saw one of the chickens go up to the rooster and start pecking at that area of the neck. The rooster was fine with it. So thought it may be mites or something like that. These are free ranging chickens, have a dust bath pile, and are not easy to catch so bathing them with a flea shampoo is going to be very difficult. And it is only a few of the chickens, maybe 5 out of 15. When I say raw, I mean all the feathers are gone and the flesh is exposed and it is red. I do not see any bleeding but I am not close either. Any ideas would be helpful. Thanks.
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AAAARRGH! How do you get rid of MITES???
Will try and segregate and get pictures. They are not scratching that I can see. They do head for their dust bath very regularly in the afternoon.
I am trying to attach photos not sure I am doing it right. Attached as a file??? Okay, if you can see these photos you can see it is just on the neck, nowhere else on the body.
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I do not think I posted these photos correctly, but if you open the file you will see the neck damage. It is on two of my Rhode Island Red hens, just a bit on the rooster, and just the very start on two of my white leghorns. The one RIR hen has it the worst. But do not seem out of kilter in other way. Thanks for any info.
I don't think it is molting based on the area and the time of year (too late mostly here in the desert). Segregate and try the DE and watch them for mites etc.
it very well could be molting. Do you see any scratches or bleeding?
I say, segregate and watch.
You could try DE, its organic and might kill mites if they are there.
could be mites, lice? do they scratch?
Either way you should segregate these birds.
Can you post a picture?
Somehow you are going to have to catch them and really examine them. If they turn into open wounds or infections the other chickens will go after them and it won't be pretty. It would be helpful if you have a large pet carrier/cage to isolate them with the flock (so there is not re-introduction problems) but sheltered enough so you can treat whatever is happening to them. Dust baths are very helpful but sometimes an infestation has to be treated or it could become a worse problem.