Bald butted chicken

[jewella]

Hi all!

I have searched and found a couple of posts on this topic, but none that quite align with the situation with our hen, Zoe (or "Baby Zoe" as my daughter calls her).

I wasn't sure if this post should be in the "chicken behaviors" topic, or this one.

Just last weekend, we did some work on our chicken coop during the first dry weekend we had here in Oregon, and we filled the floor of the chicken yard with sand. We did not move their area or anything. I sprinkled some Food Grade DE over the sand, and the girls seemed happy as could be. By the next day, my Speckled Sussex Zoe began acting anxious, pacing back and forth long the edge of the yard. For the most part she seems fine, aside from this pacing while we're out there. I've peeked through the windows at her and she was acting normally when no people were present.

Then a couple days ago, just a few days after after making this change to the coop, I noticed that Zoe has a bald butt! This definitely happened overnight - there's no way we could have missed it the day before. She's still laying, and the bald skin is not irritated aside from a couple of little spots. She is eliminating normally, and still eating. We've always believed her to be at the TOP of the pecking order.

Could this be due to the stress of the change in her environment? Has anyone found a reliable way to correct this?

Here's a picture of our chicken area. They get out to spend some hours in the yard every weekend.

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Thank you for any help you can provide! I'm not sure what to do!

Jewel

 

[farmer boy]

i have this with a hen but its more with her stomach idk what it is but she seems fine nothing wrong with her or anything .. but with your hen that has a bald butt i never herd of it though of shes acting fine and normal and nothing seems out of the ordinary she might be fine just keep a close eye on her and if anything changes then post back on here and i will try to help as best as i can

 

[jewella]

Thanks for the insight! I guess this is really more on her stomach too, more than her butt. It's kind of like a reverse mohawk on her undercarriage.

 

[farmer boy]

i have no clue what it is but its hasn't done anything to my hen yet and she has been like this for a while .. what breed is your hen ?

 

[jewella]

Zoe is a Speckled Sussix. Does your hen just maintain the same level of bald, or did it become worse once it happened?

 

[farmer boy]

once it happened it stay'ed the same .. but mine is a heavy bird she is really big idk what kind she is but i think rir or new hampshire but she is a big bird .. right around the bone in the middle of their stomach is where the baldness is