Light Sussex has given up preening

[Icemaiden]

Heidi, my Light Sussex, seems to have given up on personal hygiene over the last month or two. Dust bathing now just consists of sitting on the soil & I haven't seen her preen in ages. Consequently I've been having to dust her with anti louse powder & diatom to try to control her poultry louse population & her feathers are dry & tatty.

Is there anything else that I can do that'll help? I'm in two minds about giving her a warm bath, as she won't re-oil her feathers without preening...

[chrismahon]

Check her preen gland for swelling Icemaiden. Sometimes they block up, swell and get tender and need a warm water compress applied to them.

Could be she is ill and should get a thorough check. What are her poos like? Is she eating? Is her crop empty at night? Swollen abdomen? Mouth and throat free of cankers?

[Icemaiden]

Hi Chris.
Her poo is normal & her bottom clean. She's eating normally, though her weight is up & down. I'll have to check her mouth and throat; it's not something I regularly think to check.

She seems happy, though she's definitely slower walking than she used to be & sometimes​ droops her left wing. (I hope I've not hurt it while dusting under it...)

[Icemaiden]

Oh, & her preen gland feels normal to me & she doesn't seem bothered when I tweak it to remind her that it's there

[chrismahon]

Could be she's just getting old Icemaiden? We have several that would be described with the same symptoms, but there is nothing at all wrong with them. We have a 7 year old Wyandotte who grew the scruffiest feathers we've ever seen- looked like something had eaten them, but a thorough check revealed absolutely nothing and she is still laying. But no preening- we've put it down to genetics.

[Icemaiden]

Fair enough then Chris; I'll put it down to age & just keep dusting​ her with anti-louse powder as required.
Getting old has got to be better than the alternative...

[Marigold]

Fair enough then Chris; I'll put it down to age & just keep dusting​ her with anti-louse powder as required.
Getting old has got to be better than the alternative...

I'm certainly finding it so, Icemaiden. Might give the anti-louse powder a go, if it's helpful in rejuvenating....

[Icemaiden]

If you don't mind having a preen afterwards (maybe with body lotion if you can't reach your preen gland with your beak ), I'd recommend getting someone to stand you in a bowl of warm water & sploosh you down Marigold

It did wonders for Becky...