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When your backyard birds are not looking their best, this could just mean that they are going through their normal annual moult or it could be a sign of a more serious medical or behavioural issue with the flock. This section will break down some of the most common concerns by location of the body.
When to see a vet
Your birds need to see a vet if you see any of the following signs:
These may be signs that your flock has an infectious disease or other problems with management that need appropriate medical treatment and advice.
We’ve organised some of the more common conditions by where they are most likely to be causing the abnormalities that you notice. Click on the numbers in the diagram below for quick navigation.
For more information on what’s normal for your birds, check out our Protection (Feathers & Skin) section.
When the temperatures get really cold, birds can develop frostbite on the tips of their comb, wattles, ear lobes, and toes. These areas will initially appear off-colour and then start turning black. Any dead tissue will eventually dry-up, fall off, and not regrow back.
Warm affected areas slowly. Do not use direct heat like a hair dryer or heat lamp and don’t rub the affected areas. Frostbitten feet can be soaked in slightly warm water.
Do not remove any blackened areas since these are protecting the remaining skin. Separate the bird from the flock if they are pecking at the affected areas. If there are signs of infection, call your veterinarian.
Healing can take 4 to 6 weeks.
Ringowrm in chickens will often appear as a white, powdery substance covering the comb, wattles, and ear lobes. In more severe infections, the skin can become crusty and scaly leading to permanent damage.
Avian pox is a virus that cause fleshy scabbed masses often on the skin around the eyes, comb, and wattles, but can also be seen on the skin around the legs and feet. The virus cannot enter intact skin by itself and is more likely to successfully spread from infected birds in environments where they are getting bitten by mosquitoes, mites, midges, or flies.
Care usually involves:
Most of the scabs will clear in about 3 to 4 weeks and the skin may go completely back to normal or be left with only mild scarring.
Chicken beaks normally continue to grow throughout their life. Small breaks and cracks may fix themselves over time unless the parts that create new beak material are damaged.
Chickens that are stressed or bored will may bully their flock mates by pecking at feathers usually around the vent and the neck. In the affected areas, you can expect to see a lot of broken or damaged feathers with potential cuts and damage to the skin as well.
Broody hens or hens that are incubating a clutch of eggs may pull feathers from their breast both to help line the nest and to allow direct contact of the eggs with the skin to keep temperatures higher. This generally does not cause any problems for the hen. Most will go into a moult after raising their chicks, which will cause the feathers in this area to regrow.
This is a common disease caused by a mite that burrows deep into the skin to feed off of keratin. The irritation and damage from the mites causes the skin on the legs to become very rough and scaly with some of the scales peeling off.
Chickens who aren’t getting enough protein in their diet either because the diet itself does not contain enough protein or the birds is not able to access the feeder may start plucking and eating feathers to get protein. Poor quality nutrition can also lead to poor quality skin and secondary bacterial or fungal infections like the one shown on the left.
Bumblefoot (Pododermatitis) is caused by birds initially getting some damage to the skin on the bottom of the foot which can progress to severe infections of the tissues, tendons, and bones of the feet.
Risk factors for bumblefoot are:
If chickens aren’t walking on rough surfaces to wear down the nails, they can easily become overgrown. This can lead to problems with lameness because the chickens can’t balance on their feet properly. The nails can also sometimes curl back around and puncture into the skin of the feet.
Chickens can get their nails stuck or bent as they are moving around their environment, which can lead to the nail becoming cracked, partially torn off, or fully torn off.
Infections of the skin around the cloaca and vent can appear when chickens have problems with diarrhoea or are consuming foods with a lot of undigestible fibre.
If your hens are with a rooster during the mating season, they may have feather loss and skin wounds around the back of their necks where the rooster grabs on with his beak or on their backs where the rooster can cause damage with his spurs.
If you have a particularly aggressive rooster, you may choose to remove him from the flock.
You can also purchase a hen saddle, which is a piece of cloth secured over the hen’s back to prevent damage and feather loss.
Most birds will have their first annual moult during autumn when they are about 15 to 18 months of age. This process last about 10 to 12 weeks and allows them to replace damaged feathers as well as preparing their body for the next laying season. Some chickens start moulting from the head and neck first while others will lose feathers at random from all parts of the body.
It can be painful for them to grow new pin feathers so avoid touching or handling them as much as possible.
Feeding a higher protein diet (20%) and giving some high protein treats like mealworms or cat food can help them regrow feathers faster.
Red mites are blood-sucking parasites that may appear as small red dots along the base of the feathers and feather shafts. You may also notice clumps or red mites around the cracks and crevices of your coop and nest boxes.
Northern fowl mites are about 0.6mm to 1mm long. They live mostly on the feathers, but but travel down to the skin to feed on blood. This can cause significant itching with birds often rubbing against objects or pecking at their skin.
Poultry lice are 1mm to 6mm long and feed off dry skin, scabs, and feathers. You will often notice large clusters of eggs at the base of the feathers. Chickens may also spend more time preening and pecking at their feathers than normal.
