Many hens have bare backs, lost feathers

mpguay

Songster
8 Years
Apr 27, 2011
131
5
101


Hello friends!
Hoping for some advice or observations on this problem:

In May, I had a flock of 25 hens and one very large roo. A few (3-4 out of 19) of my hens have missing feathers on their backs.
The one in the pic is the worst. Her other feathers are normal. Vent looks fine. Eyes bright.
I never witnessed any harrassing. All hens are otherwise very healthy: eating drinking, good poos, laying eggs.

I assumed it was the roo, and since I didnt need fertilized eggs, I sent him to the crock pot.
That was 2 months ago. My hens still have bare backs. It has NOT gotten better, possibly worse. I examined a couple for mites.
They look very clean. No blood, no scabs, just no feathers.


These girls have free range in my 1/2 acre garden. I make them fresh sprouts. They are pampered.
Do hens pick on each other to this extent?

I did not see this in my last flock. A molt does not look like that does it? The molts Ive seen have been more sporatic, not concentrated on the back.

Thoughts?
 
Last edited:
IM not sure if this is what is going on in your flock, but I recently got a hen from a local farmer that has no feather on her back from her rooster. She was popular apparently..lol

It took her FOREVER to get those feathers back. And when she finally did, it was during a molt. She would start to grow small feathers, but the other girls would pick them out again. So I hardly ever saw growth. But when she molted a few months ago, she got all her feathers back.
 
thank you Sugartree! that makes sense. She hasnt gone through a molt since she lost those feathers. So i will wait and see.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom