constant flapping and preening

[Nanajennie]

My hen is constantly flapping her wings like she just took a bath, and preening when she isn't in the nest. He doesn't act like this... She has been showing signs of feather loss, as I have mentioned on other posts. I saw him picking at her after a bath once, but could not see any feathers outside or inside the nest. If it is mites, wouldn't the male have it? She is only relaxed when eating or in the nest, other wise it is like she has an obsession with preening and flapping like she is drying off. I am worried as she has six eggs due early February. Hope I am being paranoid. Hope this is normal, but it doesn't feel right.

Literally as I typed, they swapped roles, she is in and he is out, he is behaving normal, eating and talking...

confused and worried

[GB1]

Don't worry.
Girls spend more time in the nest than boys. She needs to stretch and clean up, so she does it when she has time ( out of the nest). When they seat on eggs they tend to loose some feathers. It is normal too. If they have mites you should notice trouble breathing ( open beak(partially), clicking noise, etc.). It is a good idea to treat your birds for mites when you get them or when you get a new bird(from somewhere else). I use SCATT and it works. I don't use it as often as they recommend though. I only treat them once a year.
Do you have a bird bath in the cage? Bath is beneficial not only for the birds but for the eggs as well. Mine take a bath sometimes twice a day.
Give them egg food or hard-boiled egg crushed with shell.
Keep an eye on her. I think she is fine if she doesn't look sick. She is just cleaning herself and stretching while out and about.
I hope it helps.

[debbie276]

If they have mites you should notice trouble breathing ( open beak(partially), clicking noise, etc.)

Feather mites or lice show none of these symptoms as they are not inside the bird but on their feathers.
If it is scratching and ratty feathers I would suspect feather mites. Here's an article that talks about mites and lice, how to tell if they have them and how to get rid of them.
http://www.finchniche.com/features_mites-lice.php

[Nanajennie]

Thank you GB1 and Debbie.

I have a bath and they bathe once a day. It is winter and a little chilly this week (5 degrees) so I only let them bathe once a day

I am going to look into that website about feather mites. He isn't scratching/flapping/picking but she does. I got them from a woman who breeds and she says none of hers are showing signs of mites. So if she has them, I have no clue how or why. I am going to try and snap a pic of her after a bath that shows her chest that is bare. When she is dry it looks normal.

Thanks again

[debbie276]

Not sure exactly what your looking at but the bird will have a brood patch which is a bare spot on their underside so that when they sit on their eggs they have direct skin to egg contact for heat. Is it possible that the mites came from the nest box?

[Nanajennie]

Debbie , I have a picture of it but cant figure out how to post a new pic in this thread.

All the bird's items were brand new when I got them. I ordered everything from a place called Petland USA, everything was in it's original box etc... except the cage. I got it at a petstore, but I disenfected it prior to putting them in it. The transport cage was a loaner from the breeder...

I really want to show you these two pics. One is from 4-5 days and then one from this am.

[skyjump100]

Hi, Click on Post Reply at the bottom of this message rather that use the quick reply box that is already open. After typing in your message, scroll down and you will see where you can attach your pic.

Good luck

[debbie276]

Posting pictures:

Click on "POSTreply" tab at the bottom of this page.
In the "upload attachment" area click on "browse"
Tell it where your picture is
Click "add the file"
It will now automatically resize (thanks Crystal) and be attached to the bottom of your post.
If you want it in your post click the area you want it to appear and then click the button "place inline"

[debbie276]

They probably didn't come from the nest box then (if it even is mites), wasn't sure if it was new.

[GB1]

I didn't even think about the feather mites. Sorry. Local pet store will have a spray for that. I once got couple birds from breeder and only one had mites. I treated them and it went away. Check out the feathers and see if you see anything unusual. Treat them just in case though for lice and mites.