It looks like I have a couple of problems. I have 9 hens; five 11 months old red stars and three seven month old marans and a dominique. The marans and the dominique have taken to pulling the feathers out of the backsides of each other and one of the red stars, especially just above the tail feathers. I'm guessing here but I thought it might be because we put the younger birds on Layena and they might be hungry for more protein since it's primarily them we see doing the picking. So my first question is; does this sound like a reasonable assumption? They are in a run that is 30 feet by 8 feet and they are let free range a couple times a day so I don't think it's space.
Second problem is that one of the marans has very few feathers (on her backside) and it looks like the others went for her vent like it was a treat. I found her yesterday morning quite bloody with white goopy poo sticking to her back side. I also believe she laid an egg-less shell of all things (didn't know such a thing could happen). I brought her in and bathed her good and inspected her and I believe the injuries are purely superficial. Her vent is intact with no prolapse other problems that I could see or feel. I've been keeping her separate and in the dark to keep her quiet and not laying, and she's been eating and drinking fine.
This morning she looks better but there is an abundance of white sticky goo all over her vent and backside, really gooping up what feathers she has down there. I'm going to wash her again, but I'm wondering if there might be something else that is going on? Infection perhaps? We've only been chicken keepers for a month and a half so I'm not really sure what we are doing!
Second problem is that one of the marans has very few feathers (on her backside) and it looks like the others went for her vent like it was a treat. I found her yesterday morning quite bloody with white goopy poo sticking to her back side. I also believe she laid an egg-less shell of all things (didn't know such a thing could happen). I brought her in and bathed her good and inspected her and I believe the injuries are purely superficial. Her vent is intact with no prolapse other problems that I could see or feel. I've been keeping her separate and in the dark to keep her quiet and not laying, and she's been eating and drinking fine.
This morning she looks better but there is an abundance of white sticky goo all over her vent and backside, really gooping up what feathers she has down there. I'm going to wash her again, but I'm wondering if there might be something else that is going on? Infection perhaps? We've only been chicken keepers for a month and a half so I'm not really sure what we are doing!
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