Ant idea what this is? five hens with raw/exposde "shoulders"

[dogfuel]

the girl in photos is the worst, but five of five hens (no more rooster) showing similar injuries. chciken shoulders (link to photo)?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Fluffy Lambs]

the girl in photos is the worst, but five of five hens (no more rooster) showing similar injuries. chciken shoulders (link to photo)?

Thanks in advance!

Did you previously have a rooster, or did they get like this after you got rid of it?

 

[deidreg]

the girl in photos is the worst, but five of five hens (no more rooster) showing similar injuries. chciken shoulders (link to photo)?

Thanks in advance!

Are you seeing injuries or just missing feathers? Hard to tell from photos.

 

[dogfuel]

Did you previously have a rooster, or did they get like this after you got rid of it?

This came up long after the rooster was gone.... thanks!

 

[6BeachChicks]

Could they have been sliding under something rough? Mine like to slide under all sorts of things.

 

[dogfuel]

Are you seeing injuries or just missing feathers? Hard to tell from photos.

Thanks... loss of feathers and looks like some worn/injured skin

 

[WhySayWhat]

Molt? Mites? When you observe them, are your other chickens pulling out her feathers or is she "excessively grooming"? How old is she? What feed do you use? Is she in contact with any other animals?

 

[dogfuel]

should have mentioned they very abrubtly started molting about 1 wk ago (when this started)... Sorry, realize adding to a story midway is not constructive... thought I had included this!

 

[dogfuel]

does seem severe to be just molting...[picture of raw skin]... but why I'm asking folks that know more than me. Thanks for the feedback and answers

 

[deidreg]

Molting shouldn't cause raw skin. I suspect they may be pecking each other. A couple possibilities: Space is too small. Your rooster kept order and now that he's gone the hens are working out a new pecking order (literally). Observe them as much as you can and you're likely to figure it out. If you have an aggressive and/or injured hem, you may need to separate them for a few days. Let us know how it's going.

Good luck.