Bald Butted Gal

[DellaMyDarling]

I got a number of surprise hens just last week. Judging by the coop given to us with them (we are using just temporarily until ours is done), their impressive fatness, and the hens having super overgrown nails, they weren't the best cared for.
They all otherwise appear and behave in good health. Some quality free ranging and nail trims should fix things right up...
Except for the gal with the bald rump?

They were not attacked and she has no sign of injury. All tail feathers lush and lovely, it's the downy fluffs on her rear that are gone. As in, as she's plucking the yard for goodies, I get a full hen moon!

I believe it's the barred rock hen, but let me double check. Ideas?

 

[SurferchickinSB]

I got a number of surprise hens just last week. Judging by the coop given to us with them (we are using just temporarily until ours is done), their impressive fatness, and the hens having super overgrown nails, they weren't the best cared for.
They all otherwise appear and behave in good health. Some quality free ranging and nail trims should fix things right up...
Except for the gal with the bald rump?

They were not attacked and she has no sign of injury. All tail feathers lush and lovely, it's the downy fluffs on her rear that are gone. As in, as she's plucking the yard for goodies, I get a full hen moon!

I believe it's the barred rock hen, but let me double check. Ideas?

Look for mites

 

[DellaMyDarling]

Ooo! Oh no!
I assume I just give her a grab and ruffle some feathers, should see them if there are any to see?
Luckily, most of these gals are fairly well handled. Shouldn't be too bad with a child helper to clip her nails same time.

(I didn't post about the nails. I already read up here how to remedy them. I presume that just like dogs, the overgrowth is causing problems with their toes and I should definitely take care of it for them.)

 

[DellaMyDarling]

I caught and trimmed 4/6 of the new gals. Two have this bald rump patch, the barred rock being the worst. I think the other gal is a Wyandotte but I'm not sure.
I didn't see anything resembling mites, checking a few places on them. One girl's patch is clearly dry skinned where feathers are missing. This girl, the barred rock, has stumps of feathers.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

I caught and trimmed 4/6 of the new gals. Two have this bald rump patch, the barred rock being the worst. I think the other gal is a Wyandotte but I'm not sure.
I didn't see anything resembling mites, checking a few places on them. One girl's patch is clearly dry skinned where feathers are missing. This girl, the barred rock, has stumps of feathers.

Oh, looks like it is completely bald, but not really irritated. It could possibly be a broody patch. Is it sort of underneath, like towards the back of the belly?

 

[weezerfish]

If you look hard for the parasites and come up empty, you may have a feather picker. I've had this issue with two batches of chickens, and it always seems to begin in the winter months when I can't free range them. I suspect my problem has been boredom combined with having a chicken or two too many for the space that I have. In my first batch, I had an EE that picked on my black sex link first and subsequently everybody else. She seemed to target the butt fluff. This time, I had two wyandottes that I caught picking feathers off in front of the tails of my barred rocks.

How many chickens do you have in all and how much space are they in? What is your run area like? Do they have things to draw their attention to and away from each other?

 

[DellaMyDarling]

Oh, looks like it is completely bald, but not really irritated. It could possibly be a broody patch. Is it sort of underneath, like towards the back of the belly?

Yes, I'd say that if they were sitting on an egg, this is in that general region. Hen pictured is the worst, the second gal I didn't see until I was actively pursuing her for trimming capture.

So, in terms of boredom, that's totally possible. These girls (6) arrived on Sunday. They were previously kept in a coop and run that absolutely could have been too small for them. First two days here I kept them in that coop or the temporary dog kennel chicken run set up. And then, I let the lovelies out! They're now free rangers that return to their familiar temporary coop at dusk. I think the overgrown nails and boredom should be cured here on out.
MY coop will be capable of sleeping the chickens in another two(?) days. A run will take us longer, but we're set on free ranging dawn to dusk anyway. There will be 9 hens total in a coop about 12x10' with 8' ceiling and several roosts. My chicks arrive in May, and have space outside of the coop to be brooded in.

Are there particular things I could add to our yard or coop to cure boredom? They've found several favorite places on the property already. We have an orchard, garden beds, pine tree boughs, giant rhodedendron bush, lots of leaf piles, wood pile, compost heap...

 

[weezerfish]

It sounds to me like boredom or cramped space won't be an issue going forward. If they're going to free range as much as it sounds like they may, they should have plenty area to spread out and forage. If it is feather picking causing your problem, it still may not resolve itself with the improved conditions you are providing. I get the sense from others on the site that this behavior can become a habit that is tough to break even if the original stressors are resolved. Spend some time with them and watch them while they are as restricted spacewise as they're going to be in their normal routine. That's how I was able to verify I had a picker and who was the culprit.