3 hens with neck feather issues..not sure what it is/how to treat it? (Pictures included)

valley said:

3 of my 11 girls have lost feathers in a ring around their neck. My Buff Brahma looks the worst while my 2 Buff Orpingtons only have light feather loss with healthy looking skin underneath. The brahma's neck looks really rough. They are all eating fine and seem content...i've looked for parasites and don't see any. I've never seen them picking at each other. Is this something I should worry about?

They are eating normal layer feed pellets, a cup of scratch grains and also a handful of whole corn and a chunk of bread as treats. Their water gets changed daily and most are laying daily. Their combs are red and they seem healthy and happy otherwise.

Picture 1: Orp #1 (Sam) - missing feathers in front of her neck


Picture 2: Buff - missing a complete ring of feathers around her neck



Picture 3: Another shot of Buff and Orp #2 (Ella) below her with a complete ring of missing feathers around neck.

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Wyorp Rock said:

Observe them at night while roosting. I'm guessing these three are lowest in pecking order(?) Look at your Barred Rock in the photos - she is pristine. These three girls are getting their feathers plucked by higher ranking members of the flock - most likely at night or early morning.

Consider the protein levels in what you feed them. Offer extra protein instead of bread, scratch and corn for treats - give some chopped egg, mix some tuna in their feed, offer some meat or give higher protein commercial feed like all flock/flock raiser. Aim for 18-20%protein and limit treats to no more than 5% of their daily intake - see if this makes a difference.

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valley said:

Quote:
You may want to also consider how much space you have inside your coop since you have 2 that don't want to roost inside. Not enough space can also cause feather picking/aggression issues.
Adding another roosting bar sometimes helps. Watch them at roosting time to see if there is one or more offenders.

There's nothing wrong with giving treats (don't we all want them

) Just limit how much they they get. If you haven't done so, offer some hanging veggies or fruit for them to pick at (cabbage, apple, cucumber, kale, etc.). This gives them something to pick at and work on throughout the day. Scratch, corn and bread are usually quickly consumed and boredom can set in. These do have a place as treats, just not in great quantities.

I hope some of these help. Let us know how they are doing.

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Wyorp Rock said:

You may want to also consider how much space you have inside your coop since you have 2 that don't want to roost inside. Not enough space can also cause feather picking/aggression issues.
Adding another roosting bar sometimes helps. Watch them at roosting time to see if there is one or more offenders.

There's nothing wrong with giving treats (don't we all want them

) Just limit how much they they get. If you haven't done so, offer some hanging veggies or fruit for them to pick at (cabbage, apple, cucumber, kale, etc.). This gives them something to pick at and work on throughout the day. Scratch, corn and bread are usually quickly consumed and boredom can set in. These do have a place as treats, just not in great quantities.

I hope some of these help. Let us know how they are doing.

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mavis4 said:

This is something I have a lot of experience with. The exact same happened to my Chickens. What I did was watch them as much as I could to see who was bullying who and once I have determined the bullies I removed them from the flock and kept them in a separate pen. ( i had 2 bullies ) they were away from the flock for about 3 days then I put spectacles on them. They had them on for about a week then I took them off and They never did it again.

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valley said:

Thanks for the info. I can definitely separate the offenders from the flock once I find out who is causing the harm...but I dont have the stomach to use the specs, lol. From what i've read, you have to pin them through the nostrils. I cant help but think that it would hurt them? 

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