All my flock have bald butts, except two...

[mamatobes]

Hi I have 3 RIR, 3 Marans, 1 4month old Buff Orpington, 3 4month old Barre Rock Plymouths (2 are roosters)

Over the summer and spring I noticed that my girls were getting bald butts...a perfect circle of missing feathers. I have been spray blu coate on them, but nothing is growing back.

One of my marans was broodie and I fulfilled her purpose and had her sit on fertilized eggs...4 hatched. She now roosts with the others at night (has been for a good 3 weeks)and the kids roost on the other side of the coop. Last night I noticed that big mama looked really beaten up. I looked in one corner of the coop and there were a ton of feathers, Upon closer inspection, she is missing a ton of feathers...wing feathers, back feathers etc. She seems fine except the obvious lack of feathers. No one seems to be going after her.

One of my marans and one of my RIR, have full feathers...nothing is missing. I am singling them out because no one seems to be messing with them. Should I separate the full feathered ones and see if life goes back to normal and see if the other girls start getting some feathers back?

On a whole other note...one of the marans (missing butt and haunch feathers) jumped on the back of one of the RIR (low hen on the totem pole) and started pecking her head...she is missing feathers from her comb. So now I am questioning is she the culprit and too afraid to go after the other RIR and maran.

I don't even know what my question is, but I am worry about Big Mama...how do I find out who the "bad" hen is?

Do I put Mama in a separate coop?

thanks

Diane

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Hi I have 3 RIR, 3 Marans, 1 4month old Buff Orpington, 3 4month old Barre Rock Plymouths (2 are roosters)

Over the summer and spring I noticed that my girls were getting bald butts...a perfect circle of missing feathers. I have been spray blu coate on them, but nothing is growing back.

One of my marans was broodie and I fulfilled her purpose and had her sit on fertilized eggs...4 hatched. She now roosts with the others at night (has been for a good 3 weeks)and the kids roost on the other side of the coop. Last night I noticed that big mama looked really beaten up. I looked in one corner of the coop and there were a ton of feathers, Upon closer inspection, she is missing a ton of feathers...wing feathers, back feathers etc. She seems fine except the obvious lack of feathers. No one seems to be going after her.

One of my marans and one of my RIR, have full feathers...nothing is missing. I am singling them out because no one seems to be messing with them. Should I separate the full feathered ones and see if life goes back to normal and see if the other girls start getting some feathers back?

On a whole other note...one of the marans (missing butt and haunch feathers) jumped on the back of one of the RIR (low hen on the totem pole) and started pecking her head...she is missing feathers from her comb. So now I am questioning is she the culprit and too afraid to go after the other RIR and maran.

I don't even know what my question is, but I am worry about Big Mama...how do I find out who the "bad" hen is?

Do I put Mama in a separate coop?

thanks

Diane

It sounds like Big Mama is likely molting given the difference in her feather loss and that you have seen in the others.

 

[mamatobes]

So you don't think she is getting beaten up? With all the black feathers around...it looks as though a coon got in there! All in one night.