4 week old pullet with bare back / no feathers looking for answers.

[moose]

I have 16 pullets that almost 4 weeks old. They are still in my garage in a large box until they get big enough to go out with the 5 big hens in the run. One of my barred rocks i noticed has no feathers on her back anymore. she appears to be the only one of the 16. Any ideas what is causing this? I noticed one of the other pullets peck her on the back a little. I am feeding them "start and grow" and some treats now like crickets and cherry tomatoes. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks,

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

Sounds like that may need a little more space. Overcrowding can cause them to pick one another like that.

 

[hoppychicken]

You may need to separate them into several different cages. My last hatch I got from poultry breeders online went cannibalistic on me. It isn't going to get better----separate and google cannibalism in chickens---lots of info out there.

 

[obe10]

typical picking. separate it until it's feathers grow back. is she bleeding? if so put some neosporen on it she should be fine.

 

[purpletree23]

To ease the crowding at least for a short time I would make sure they have chick grit for a few days and them build a small pen for them on grass that doesn't have any chemicals sprayed on it. Make sure they have shade and water. A small pen can be as easy as a small roll of fencing made into a circle and fastened into the ground with bent wire coat hangers. You can let them out for a bit while you watch them. The sun will also be good for them. Chickens can develop rickets if they don't get enough sun.

The chick grit BEFORE letting them feed on grass is really important. You don't want impacted crops or digestion issues.

Is there any way you can divide the coop and run you have now so you can give the little ones larger living space?

 

[Judy]

The others are picking her feathers out, usually caused by either overcrowding or protein deficiency. There are some good threads linked on the FAQ page about this. Sounds like yours are feeling crowded, unless they are eating an awful lot of treats -- and I'm sure crickets provide SOME protein! Treats should be less than 5% to 10% of their diet.