Bald bottom and stopped laying!

[MyChickens14]

could there possibly be any predators bothering at night? cause that could cause stress. is anything happening to the rest of the flock?
btw it take 4-5 months for a chicken to fully moult.

 

[Kathy Golla]

I vote she is pulling out her feathers there to sit on eggs.
I have a Delaware that does this. Same exact spot.
The not laying eggs could be that she is secretly broody ( not fully committed) or it could be unrelated.

 

[MyChickens14]

maybe you could rub DE on it, just incase its lice or mites. maybe its parisites. bring a stool sample to your vet (the deals with chickens) and he/she can take a look. if so, then they'll give you the specific antibiotics and you should be good to go. they might also give you a cream or ointment to help.

 

[Joeschooks]

Thank you all for your advice, much appreciated. I think what I will do is sprinkle some DE on her and maybe get some of the lice powder with permethrin for the coop just to be extra sure! I'll keep a close on on Claudette and if she doesn't improve or if she begins to look ill a visit to the vet will be in order!

Kathy, she does sit on the nest for ten minutes a day like the other girls. Could that be the "not fully committed" broodiness you mention?

 

[Kathy Golla]

Sadly, out of 6 hens (all one year old, different breeds), four of them are lounging layers, meaning they lounge when they lay, between 30 minutes and 2 hours. I've caught several of them napping! I've kind of given up as to what broody means any more!
I guess if you lounge maybe feathering the nest or being able to feel that egg against your butt seems to be a good idea to this hen.
I have one hen that is truly broody during the summer where she goes in the broody breaker, and its not this Delaware.
I've got a lot of lounging going on in my coop during the day. Hens are super busy so I guess I dont blame them for wanting some quiet time to themselves!

 

[aart]

My guess is that someone is eating those tender butt feathers.
Are there feather shafts sticking out of skin?
Have you seen feathers in nests or laying around?
No other birds are losing feathers like this?
I have a few bare butted girls, seems to come and go, never really figured it out<shrugs>

I doubt she needs antibiotics, or creams, or more DE.

 

[Joeschooks]

My guess is that someone is eating those tender butt feathers.
Are there feather shafts sticking out of skin?
Have you seen feathers in nests or laying around?
No other birds are losing feathers like this?
I have a few bare butted girls, seems to come and go, never really figured it out<shrugs>

I doubt she needs antibiotics, or creams, or more DE.

She doesn’t seem to have any feather shafts on her bald patch and it’s really rare I find any of her feathers. The lady who owns my local poultry store didn’t seem to have any doubt that it’s a partial moult. I didn’t realise a moult could cause such a big bald patch although yesterday I noticed a few of my leghorn’s feathers around (but no bald patches on her) so perhaps they are all starting to moult just in different ways? Anyway, I’ve bought some egg bone and feather vitamin supplement to add to their water and I guess we’ll see what happens. I’ll post an update in due course.

 

[aart]

It could be partial molt, new pin feathers should emerge rather quickly if that's what it is.

 

[Joeschooks]

It could be partial molt, new pin feathers should emerge rather quickly if that's what it is.

Thanks, yes I will keep a close eye on her. Hopefully that's all it is

 

[rebrascora]

Hi

Can you give her a thorough examination for any abnormal swelling, particularly between her legs and around her vent. I use a cupped hand to assess birds at roosting time and compare one to another directly because those feathers can hide all sorts of lumps and bumps. Also check her breast area and assess her body condition from it. Is her breast bone sharp under the skin or quite well covered. Again, check against your other girls.
Can you be sure she has laid a couple of eggs recently? ie actually saw her lay them rather than see her making a trip to the nest box and then afterwards finding an egg..... or can you identify her eggs by shape/colour? It is unusual to have a partial moult in this area of the abdomen and combined with her hiatus in laying, might indicate a reproductive problem. What does her comb look like? Is it nice and plump and red or pale and dry looking?

How high are your roost bars? Pecking of this area can occur at roost time by a hen standing below and pecking to try to get a better roost spot..... if the roost bars are at a height which allows this ie puts this hen's undercarriage at a convenient height for pecking from below. I appreciate you say this girl is top of the pecking order, but maybe that is changing, especially if she has a health issue going on which has impacted on her laying.
Could mice or rats be gaining access to the coop at night. I did read a post recently from a well respected member of the community that mice may take feathers from a bird whilst it is roosting at night to feather their nest.

PS. To the best of my knowledge frostbite will not cause bald patches but bald patches could cause frost bite and moulting is usually done in 6-8 weeks, so some of the information given in this thread may be awry, albeit well meaning.