Bald Spot on Butt

[dalguiyeowang]

I will get and post photos later, but has anyone ever had a bald spot on their hen's behind? I have never had a hen with a bald spot before.

A little background:

• I have no roosters, so I doubt it's caused by breeding.
• I live in the Midwest in the USA, so we're in winter, so I don't think it's due to being broody or molting.
• None of my other hens have bald patches anywhere on their bodies and I clean the coop with great regularity and always lay down fresh DE.
• We don't have an avian/exotic vet nearby, so I can't take her to the vet to have her skin examined. However, when I look at it, I don't see any signs of parasites.
• Over the summer, she was a little on the chunky side, so part of me wonders if she just got too fat (but she's at a healthy weight again).

She has had this bald patch now for months. One of the guys at the local feed store said it was simply her broody patch (she's a 18 month old Cochin hen who was broody twice during the spring/summer season). Her sister was broody more often than she was and only did some chest plucking and has since recovered her feathers.

My girls eat a very balanced diet of lettuce, green beans, cracked corn (in winter), parsley, cilantro, protein (mealworms, leftover pot roast, salmon skin), and calcium (I give them layer feed and egg shells).

I have combed BYC to see if anyone else has the same issue, but I cannot find anything pointing out why she has a rather large bald spot on her butt. For the time being, I have been treating it with bag balm almost every day, and I fear that the colder it gets, the more likely she will die from exposure.

As I said, I'll post pictures later, but I'm hoping my post makes enough sense in the meantime. Thank you for any advice.

You can see that her feathers are starting to come back in, but she has had this area feather free for a few months.

 

[Trisseh]

Anatomically referring to the area as her “butt” without corresponding landmarks or images to help us will make things rather difficult. where is the area in relation to other landmarks, like her keel, vent, etc? Is it on her underside, near her vent? Is it at the base of her tail, dorsally (on top)? Or is it where one would expect a broody patch to be? What does the skin look like on the bare patch? Are you finding feathers in the coop/run? Did she molt this fall already?

 

[dalguiyeowang]

Anatomically referring to the area as her “butt” without corresponding landmarks or images to help us will make things rather difficult. where is the area in relation to other landmarks, like her keel, vent, etc? Is it on her underside, near her vent? Is it at the base of her tail, dorsally (on top)? Or is it where one would expect a broody patch to be? What does the skin look like on the bare patch? Are you finding feathers in the coop/run? Did she molt this fall already?

These are great questions that I should have addressed earlier--I'm sorry about that!
It's under her cloaca (that area looks normal as is her tail/tail feathers). The area where her feathers meet her legs are fine (I'll get pictures when I get home from school).
For the most part, the skin looks pretty shiny (if that helps) and is relatively pale and pink in color (when it gets red, I gently wash it in castile soap and dry it).
The weirdest thing is that neither she nor my other cochin molted this spring, though my EE and my New Hampshire Red both molted. It looks like one or both might now be headed towards the molting stage because now I have gray feathers gracing the inside of the coop (I really hope they aren't, but no one ever said Cochins were bright--cute, very cute, but not bright). However, this bald patch has been on her rear since around May.
Thanks for your clarifying questions!

 

[coach723]

When I see a bare butt like that it's almost always feather picking on the roosts. How many birds in how much space? Even one dominant bird can be an issue if they don't want to share space on the roost. Do some observing after they go in to roost to see if that may be the issue. Sometimes changing the roosting layout or spacing will solve the problem. Often times when birds lose feathers like this they don't fill back in until they do molt.
Please post some pictures, so we can get a better idea of what may be happening.

 

[dalguiyeowang]

When I see a bare butt like that it's almost always feather picking on the roosts. How many birds in how much space? Even one dominant bird can be an issue if they don't want to share space on the roost. Do some observing after they go in to roost to see if that may be the issue. Sometimes changing the roosting layout or spacing will solve the problem. Often times when birds lose feathers like this they don't fill back in until they do molt.
Please post some pictures, so we can get a better idea of what may be happening.

Thank you! My cochins cuddle at night (I call it the Cochin pile), so I was unable to take photos when I got home from my classes, though I will upload photos tomorrow morning! On the pecking order, she is #2.
I have 4 surviving girls in a 72 square foot coop. Dorothy (aka bare butt) sits on top of her sister, Penelope (like she's hatching her). I think she does it to keep warm. Neither one of them has enjoyed roosting, so they sit underneath my EE and NHR.
Anyway, I will get those photos first thing in the morning so this most excellent community can weigh in with more information.
Thank you so much for your input thus far! Upon close inspection, it does look like she is molting, so your words have me optimistic. Should I be concerned that she's molting now? I have never had winter molting before.

 

[coach723]

They sometimes molt in the dead of winter, I have one having a fairly hard molt right now also. Most birds prefer to roost, so I would try to get them to. Pictures of your set up might help. I would go out and put them on the roosts for a few days, after dark, see if you can get them to change their habits. Long term some birds can get sores from laying in bedding rather than roosting. If they are getting picked on by the others, they may be reluctant to try to roost with them. There may be another reason they are reluctant. You said you have '4 surviving birds'. Have you lost some recently? Any change in population can cause a pecking order reset.

 

[RoosterWhisperer]

I will get and post photos later, but has anyone ever had a bald spot on their hen's behind? I have never had a hen with a bald spot before.

A little background:

• I have no roosters, so I doubt it's caused by breeding.
• I live in the Midwest in the USA, so we're in winter, so I don't think it's due to being broody or molting.
• None of my other hens have bald patches anywhere on their bodies and I clean the coop with great regularity and always lay down fresh DE.
• We don't have an avian/exotic vet nearby, so I can't take her to the vet to have her skin examined. However, when I look at it, I don't see any signs of parasites.
• Over the summer, she was a little on the chunky side, so part of me wonders if she just got too fat (but she's at a healthy weight again).

She has had this bald patch now for months. One of the guys at the local feed store said it was simply her broody patch (she's a 18 month old Cochin hen who was broody twice during the spring/summer season). Her sister was broody more often than she was and only did some chest plucking and has since recovered her feathers.

My girls eat a very balanced diet of lettuce, green beans, cracked corn (in winter), parsley, cilantro, protein (mealworms, leftover pot roast, salmon skin), and calcium (I give them layer feed and egg shells).

I have combed BYC to see if anyone else has the same issue, but I cannot find anything pointing out why she has a rather large bald spot on her butt. For the time being, I have been treating it with bag balm almost every day, and I fear that the colder it gets, the more likely she will die from exposure.

As I said, I'll post pictures later, but I'm hoping my post makes enough sense in the meantime. Thank you for any advice.

Your post makes perfect sense!
I have hens whose "entire" rumps, have ZERO feathers... it's nasty!

 

[RoosterWhisperer]

How many roos are with her, and how long has she had this...issue?

 

[dalguiyeowang]

They sometimes molt in the dead of winter, I have one having a fairly hard molt right now also. Most birds prefer to roost, so I would try to get them to. Pictures of your set up might help. I would go out and put them on the roosts for a few days, after dark, see if you can get them to change their habits. Long term some birds can get sores from laying in bedding rather than roosting. If they are getting picked on by the others, they may be reluctant to try to roost with them. There may be another reason they are reluctant. You said you have '4 surviving birds'. Have you lost some recently? Any change in population can cause a pecking order reset.

After raising chickens for almost 6 years, I have never had a chicken molt before, but this is good to now learn! Thank you. Yes, you are absolutely right--she is molting! What in the heck?
I will try your suggestion about putting my girls on the roosting bar.
Unfortunately, I lost a few this past year: prolapse (my cochins started cannibalizing her), one cochin pushed to her death (I think my bare butt accidentally cuddled her too hard and she fell off the deck and she broke her neck), and one from complications of sour crop.
Dorothy has made her way to hen #2 in the pecking order, so I am hoping it's not a bullying issue.

 

[dalguiyeowang]

Your post makes perfect sense!
I have hens whose "entire" rumps, have ZERO feathers... it's nasty!

Right? It's so weird. I don't have any roos, but I do have one female who has taken on the role of the head roo (which she challenges me on a daily basis, but that is for another day). In the pecking order, Dorothy is #2 in terms of hens, but if I factor Ginger into being the roo, then Dorothy is technically hen #1. None of my other girls are missing feathers back there, so maybe it is from a mating attempt? I have never had roosters before, so this is all new to me.