Alopecia is the complete or partial loss by chickens of feather cover. Farmers often come across this bird disease. The reasons for its occurrence are many, and the lack of a correct and timely reaction from the owner will lead to serious complications.
Causes of Alopecia
The list of causes of alopecia in chickens is quite numerous. The disease may occur in connection with:
- Malnutrition. Often, birds begin to lose feathers when unbalanced and malnourished. Lack of vitamin A and B vitamins, as well as various micro and macro elements (sulfur, calcium, iodine, manganese and phosphorus) negatively affects the plumage. In addition, the chicken may lose feather cover if it consumes the thyroid gland for a long time.
- Lack of feed. A proper and balanced daily menu is not a guarantee that the feather cover of chickens is not in danger. There may simply be insufficient feed. This is especially acute for periods of a natural change of plumage: feathers fall off, and the growth of new ones in the chicken lacks useful and nutrients in the body, in connection with which there is an imbalance and vitamin deficiency. As a result, the bird is left without feathers at all.
- Bad conditions. Unsanitary conditions in the house will not make any chicken healthy. Unsuitable humidity and temperature conditions, a lack of artificial lighting and sunlight are extremely detrimental to the well-being of birds in general, and especially to their plumage.
- The lack of walking. For many chicken breeds, walks play an important role. This is not only an opportunity to get pasture and replenish the necessary reserves of nutrients and vitamins, but also a way to obtain vitamin D, which is also extremely necessary for these birds for a good state of feather cover.
- Parasites and diseases. A common cause of baldness in these birds is skin parasites that feed on feathers. Lepidoptera, chicken mites, spoofers and fleas can lead to alopecia in chickens. Damage to feathers by larger pests, rats and mice, is also possible.
- The breed. Alopecia are more often exposed to chickens of meat and meat-egg breed, however, this disease can occur both with a laying hen and with a decorative breed.
It is important to remember that chickens can lose plumage not only as a result of the negative impact of certain factors. These birds are characterized by molting - a natural process of updating the feather cover. There are several types of this phenomenon:
- Juvenile molting - the very first. It is associated with a change in the physiological state of the bird with its intensive growth and development. The primary pen is replaced by the secondary (the so-called definitive). As a rule, juvenile molting occurs when the chicken is about one and a half months old.
In any case, if the bird intensively loses feathers, and new ones do not arise, it is worth contacting the veterinarian for advice. It will be extremely difficult for beginner farmers to distinguish molt from alopecia.
- Seasonal change of feathers. This is the reaction of the body to changes in environmental conditions. Periodic molting in good chickens, as a rule, occurs in the autumn season and can last up to two months, during which the chickens intensively lose their plumage.
Symptoms
This disease can be detected with due care and vigilance. With alopecia, a certain sequence of feather loss and other symptoms is observed:
- First, the plumage disappears from the back and neck of the chicken.
- Then the tail, stomach and chest are exposed to baldness. The process can continue continuously until the bird remains almost or completely naked.
- At the same time as feathers fall out or immediately after, fluff falls out.
- In places without feather cover, skin inflammation and bruising can occur.
- The remaining feathers often lose their natural color and become inelastic.
What is the danger? Possible complications and consequences
Alopecia itself is not so much dangerous as the consequences to which it can lead without timely and proper treatment. The complications of this disease include:
- Decrease in egg production. Initially, chickens with alopecia begin to rush less often, and then completely stop bringing eggs. Such a layer in the future is suitable only for slaughter.
- Egg quality deterioration. In chickens with this disease, not only the number of eggs produced, but also their quality suffers. They become small, they have fewer nutrients and raising chickens from them presents significant difficulties for the farmer.
- Poor weight gain. Even with proper and balanced nutrition, bald chickens gain weight extremely slowly, which entails additional costs, because a healthy chicken requires significantly less food to gain weight.
- Cannibalism. Often in a flock of chickens in which there are individuals with alopecia, cases of cannibalism can occur. Birds peck each other to the blood, which creates additional conducive conditions for the defeat of various harmful organisms.
- Susceptibility to disease. Chickens with this disease significantly increase the risk of contracting various infections.
- Financial losses. Loss of plumage is fraught with a loss in the attractive appearance of birds. A sickly looking chicken is unlikely to be acquired by the buyer, which is fraught with the loss of potential profit.
Diagnosis and treatment
There are several ways to confirm the diagnosis of alopecia. The first, most reliable, will turn to a specialist veterinarian who will probably be able to diagnose the disease and prescribe the appropriate treatment for the feathered patient. The second, for experienced poultry farmers, is to thoroughly examine the chicken and monitor the tendency of baldness and other associated symptoms.
Folk methods
Folk remedies are most often used in the treatment of alopecia in chickens. The most effective and time-tested are two methods:
- Recycling feathers. After grinding them to a state of flour, the owner of sick birds needs to add the mixture to chicken feed: a free cysteine-rich supplement can lead to the active growth of new feathers and fluff.
- The use of horns and hooves. The crushed parts of cattle contribute to the birds obtaining a high concentration of nutrients - vitamins, macro- and microelements. In addition, this method helps to eliminate sulfur deficiency, which negatively affects the plumage of birds.
It is possible to compensate for the lack of sulfur in the body of the chicken with the help of fodder sulfur - a yellow powdery substance. The required amount of powder is added to the chickens feed. Recommended dosages are usually indicated in the instructions.
Folk recipes can eliminate flaws in the nutrition of poultry. However, if this is not the cause of alopecia, these methods will only contribute to the appearance of new feathers, and the root cause of their disappearance will still have to be eliminated.
Improving conditions
If chickens are kept in poor conditions, they must be improved to treat birds. To do this, carry out the following activities:
- Lack of vitamin D from birds when walking in the sun is a common cause of feather loss. This is especially acute for those owners of chickens that contain animals in a cage. If it is not possible to arrange for birds access to fresh air for at least an hour and a half a day, then the chicken coop should be equipped with ultraviolet lamps that can compensate for the lack of sunlight to some extent.
- Cleanliness and hygiene in the chicken coop are the key to beautiful feathers. In this regard, cleaning and disinfection should be carried out on a regular basis, which will help to get rid of contaminants and harmful ammonia fumes resulting from the decomposition of chicken excrement. It is necessary to disinfect not only surfaces, but also all the equipment of the house - from roosts to drinking bowls.
- Installation of ventilation also plays an important role in the maintenance of poultry. It contributes to the regular flow of fresh air and the removal of unpleasant odors from the chicken coop.
Additionally, read how to make a chicken coop yourself.
Artificial molt
One way to treat alopecia is forced molting. To carry it out, you will need to perform the following steps:
- To deprive chickens of food, water and light for 3 days or otherwise affect the body. At the end of this period of time, birds will begin to get rid of feathers, becoming almost bald.
- Feed them with grain during the week: on the first day, 20 grams of feed are given, and on the seventh day, the amount rises to 110–120 grams. Cereal components should subsequently be replaced with compound feed of a full ration type.
- Daylight hours should be gradually increased to 12-14 hours.
- On the tenth day, birds should be transferred to food with a high indicator of energy, amino acids and other nutrients that accelerate the formation and growth of new plumage instead of fallen.
- At the end of the artificial molting procedure, birds should be transferred back to standard compound feed.
Getting rid of parasites
Chickens are often affected by parasites. Tick mites are most active at night, and it is then that birds must be checked for bloodsuckers.
Mites, peroids and poohoedi in the course of their life activity form a substance that visually resembles cotton wool - this is the place of their main habitat and reproduction. If during the inspection of the animal such a cluster was found, it should be urgently destroyed. Parasites that eat down and feathers of chickens should be sought at the base of the feathers.
Any parasite leaves excrement on the skin of birds - you can notice them by spreading the feathers apart.
Special bathtubs will help get rid of any parasites - for this, a large capacity must be filled with ash or sand. Chickens will clean feathers and thus get rid of parasites in a natural way.
Mice and rats also often act as pests of feather cover of chickens. Parasites in the chicken coop need to poison (or establish a mousetrap). A concreted floor and covered slots will reliably protect birds from further invasion of rodents.
Modern treatment
In some cases, reviewing the diet and improving housing conditions is not enough to ensure that the birds are covered with healthy feathers again. In such situations, specialized medications come to the rescue:
- Gamavit. A tool that simulates immunity in chickens weakened by diseases and parasites.
- Chiktonik. A complex multivitamin preparation that compensates for the deficiency of trace elements in the chicken body.
- Desi spray. A spray that helps eliminate skin lesions formed at the site of feathers and down. In addition, it has antibiotic and wound healing effects.
Special feed mixtures are also considered drugs. Their action is aimed at restoring the lost feather cover. The most famous drug is Operin.
Diet
As experience shows, the most common cause of alopecia is a violation of nutritional rules. Chickens, like humans, need the right diet with a high content of various beneficial minerals and vitamins.
However, alopecia can occur not only from poor quality food, but also when the chickens are not full enough, so poultry farmers need to ensure that the birds are never hungry. To calculate the required amount of feed, which should be daily in the flock, you can empirically.
The following tips will help change the nutrition of poultry for the better:
- Add the necessary vitamin and mineral complexes directly to the feed. The composition of such additives is rich in all the chemical elements required by chickens. Mixtures can be purchased at any veterinary pharmacy, pet store, or specialized online store. Among farmers, mineral fertilizing “Ryabushka”, “Capital Prok”, “Sun” and others are popular.
- Each serving of chicken feed should contain sulfur or Glauber's salt. The substance is added from this ratio: for one individual, 3 milligrams of sulfur or 1 - salt is required.
- Folk remedies, such as flour from feathers or horns and hooves, not only help to overcome already existing alopecia, but are also a useful food supplement.
- Greens is also an important attribute of the daily menu of chickens, and for bird health it will need to be given in large enough volumes. In the summer season, chickens will be able to harvest it themselves on a paddock, and in winter, prepared in advance herbal flour will come to their aid.
- From time to time, it will not hurt to feed chickens with sulfuric acid manganese and potassium iodide, based on the calculation: for one chicken up to 8 milligrams of manganese and up to 4 - potassium.
- If alopecia is rapidly progressing, and the chicken is losing more feathers every day, vitamin B is urgently included in the diet. Its addition will not only restore feather cover, but also improve the metabolism of amino acids.
- The diet of chickens with alopecia should contain fairly high doses of calcium, which is very important both for the formation of new feathers to replace fallen ones, and for maintaining the health of birds in general. Chalk has a large amount of this substance, but if desired, special medicines with a high calcium content can be purchased at a veterinary pharmacy.
- With a frequency of one day, chickens should be given a weak solution of potassium permanganate (iodine is also suitable): it will help bring the level of trace elements in the body of birds to normal.
- In general, when compiling a pet menu for the day, it is best to pay as much attention as possible to proteins, and as little as possible to fats. This distribution of nutritional value will help broilers and layers to recover even more quickly, having completely restored feather cover in the shortest possible time.
Preventive measures
If chickens have good plumage (this is especially true for decorative breeds), and the owner wants to keep it in the same form, it is necessary to adhere to a number of simple rules:
- Do not give beef thyroid to chickens. Violation of this rule will almost always result in bald birds.
- During molting, pets should be given food with a high content of organic sulfur: cabbage leaves, legumes, blood and meat and bone meal.
- The feed should be in sufficient quantities so that the chickens are always full. In addition, it should be saturated with essential vitamins and minerals.
- Frequent cleaning and disinfection of the chicken coop will prevent feathers and bird health problems.
- A preventive measure may be the equipment of a poultry house with ash in order to protect against parasites. Feathers of birds and especially their bases are strongly recommended to be greased with a small amount of vegetable oil.
- A concreted floor and covered slots reliably protect the birds from the invasion of rodents.
- The owner is always required to follow the basic recommendations for proper care and maintenance. In particular, to prevent vitamin D deficiency, it is recommended to let the birds out into the open air and sunlight for 6-8 hours during the day.
Alopecia can occur in any breed of chickens: any, even the most experienced poultry breeder, is not immune from this. However, this disease is much easier to avoid than to treat. Therefore, it is better to treat birds with all the attention and care before they begin to lose their feather cover.