Chicken question

[Hiedi]

I have a Rhode Island Red hen that is 15 months old that has a bald spot on her back near the tail. It has been there for about three weeks. My guess is: 1) she is molting, but she seems too young for that. 2) one of the other chickens is pulling the feathers out. 3) maybe a bug infestation like lice or mites. We recently cleaned the coop out and sprayed it down, then treated all birds. I did notice a small amount of blood coming out the base of a few of the quills so I am starting to think perhaps one of the other birds might be doing this. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[big brown horse]

Seperate her from the others in case it is a pecking problem. If the feathers grow back, then you have your answer.

Did you dust with DE?

If no body else has it, then I suspect it could be a hen pecking thing. What is her status in the hen pecking order?

Good luck.

 

[lupinfarm]

Looks like it could be hen pecking...I have a few hens with baldy-ish heads... No sign of mites or lice, and I have DE'd them several times as well as the coop and cleaned out the coop. Plus our little ones that are in there and have been in the coop for several weeks now don't have baldy patches either.

 

[Beekissed]

Do you have a roo? If so, I would blame the roo as this is just where my most "romanced" hens are bald. If not, I have no idea but the other suggestions sound good.

 

[Hiedi]

In the past, we have been using DE in the coop and also in their dust box. When I first noticed this problem, I thought perhaps we were not being aggressive enough treating for lice and mites so we used spray in the coop and on the chickens as well. I am just wondering if she could be pulling these feathers out herself? Is that possible?

She is probably on the bottom of the pecking order in the flock where she stays now. If it is a pecking problem, I think I know who the culprit is. They are confined chickens, but we let them out everyday to free range. I don't have any roosters.

By the way, she is only 13 months old, not 15 months.

Separating her does sounds like a good idea. We only have six hens total. Four in a movable coop and run (where this on stays) and two in a chicken tractor. I am thinking about trying to gradually introduce her to my two Barred Rocks and see how that works out.

I am not sure what the problem is, but I am not able to log on to the BYC forum anymore.

 

[Wifezilla]

Are they getting enough protein? Isn't feather pecking a sign of low protein too?

 

[BeccaOH]

Do you have a roo? If so, I would blame the roo as this is just where my most "romanced" hens are bald. If not, I have no idea but the other suggestions sound good.

I'd agree with the rooster being the reason. I've got 5 hens that look like that. 2 got so bad that they are now wearing saddles. Another is looking like she needs a saddle.

Is her head missing some feathers from the rooster grabbing her?

 

[big brown horse]

Also stress can make them pull out their feathers and peck at another's. How long do they freerange? I worry that tractors are a bit too confined for my taste. If they are not allowed a long enough time to freerange. JMHO

It sounds like you are on the right track..

 

[Hiedi]

Are they getting enough protein? Isn't feather pecking a sign of low protein too?

We are feeding them Dumor layer feed from Tractor Supply Store, and they also free range as well. I haven't been feeding them any supplemental protein.

 

[Hiedi]

Also stress can make them pull out their feathers and peck at another's. How long do they freerange? I worry that tractors are a bit too confined for my taste. If they are not allowed a long enough time to freerange. JMHO

It sounds like you are on the right track..

This is what she stays in. Before we built this, the four hens were in an old dog pen that was 100 square feet that we used for the run. Now they only have 40 square feet in this run. We move this every other day so they can have fresh grass. Going from 100 square feet to 40 square feet is a big difference. We try to let them out about an 1.5 hours per day if possible. I have a German Shepherd who I do not trust at all so I have to put him up when I let the chickens out.