Bald underbelly

[Laineyloo]

Help please! I’ve been watching one of my hens for the last couple of weeks gradually lose the feathers under her tummy. She doesn’t seem uncomfortable and is still laying. I’ve checked her for mites and made sure she’s not roosting where there’s poop. She does have a few new pin feathers coming through, but not enough to fill in the gaps. I’m worried because now a second hen seems to have the same baldness happening. We’ve tried poultry spice and mealworms for protein and feather growth, but it seems to be getting worse. Any help from you knowledgeable lot please?

 

[sdm111]

They pick feathers from there when they are preparing to go broody to regulate heat and humidity for the eggs

 

[azygous]

What do their roosting perches look like? Are they rough, unfinished lumber? How wide are they?

 

[Chicalina]

looks like a broody hen to me!

 

[Laineyloo]

What do their roosting perches look like? Are they rough, unfinished lumber? How wide are they?

Smooth bars. About 5cm diameter

 

[Laineyloo]

looks like a broody hen to me!

She’s been getting like this for a few weeks... anything I can do to stop her from going fully broody at this point?! Eek!

 

[Chicalina]

is she doing other broody behaviours?

like sitting in the nest box all day, raising her feathers or pecking you when you open it, chasing off other hens, doing giant broody stinky poops?

 

[Laineyloo]

is she doing other broody behaviours?

like sitting in the nest box all day, raising her feathers or pecking you when you open it, chasing off other hens, doing giant broody stinky poops?

No, not at all... but maybe she’s thinking about it

 

[azygous]

It's been my experience with broodies and their bald patches along their keel bones that they only lose feathers in a narrow strip and nothing like the uniform baldness of the hen of this thread.

I would look at where she is roosting and judge if another chicken is positioning herself below her and yanking feathers from her underside. This was a problem I had with my very first roosting bars which overlapped each other and younger chickens were plucking my Orpingtons bald.

 

[Laineyloo]

It's been my experience with broodies and their bald patches along their keel bones that they only lose feathers in a narrow strip and nothing like the uniform baldness of the hen of this thread.

I would look at where she is roosting and judge if another chicken is positioning herself below her and yanking feathers from her underside. This was a problem I had with my very first roosting bars which overlapped each other and younger chickens were plucking my Orpingtons bald.

She is the bottom of the pecking order so possibly. I’ll take a look. Thank you