Balding heads PLEASE HELP??

logansmommy7

Songster
10 Years
May 15, 2009
341
1
141
Shenandoah Valley
I don't think my rooster is that rough on them, but I guess it might be...I have two chickens with completely bald heads around their combs...the skin is red with no evidence of pins coming out for new growth. I have examined them for lice and see none...what to do? I just have several with feather problems...maybe the rooster's favorite girls?? I should also say-they are healthy, eating, and laying...
 
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To elaborate...this is not my entire flock. They all sleep together at night and only some of them resemble feather loss. A few it is severe, their heads around the comb area is COMPLETElY bald, AND RED! They also have bare backs. Some are worse than others. Many but not all (I only have 12 hens)have bare backs and many do not. I would say about half and half-so you can't attribute that to malnutrition can you? I feed them layer feed and they free range 100% of the time. What could it be? I never see feather pickers...
 
It's probably the roos. You said you have 12 hens, how many roos do you have? You can buy/make saddles for the hens, but that will only protect their backs. I don't know of anything (other then getting rid of some/all the roos) that will help with their heads.
 
I don't know but I'd like to hear what people say-I have one BO that has this-she seems otherwise fine and we have no rooster. At 1st I thought one of the other girls was plucking feathers off her head but that isn't it. Her bald spot is red and textured like her comb and waddles. I was thinking possibly a mini molt....? I'm pretty new to chickens-she is from my 1st batch and she's just over a year old. Hope someone has a good answer.
 
I'm afraid I have to agree with Kittymama. Roosters have their favorite hens, and my roo had 5 or 6 hens that he had plucked bare around their heads, and their backs were bare. He was a rough one. Some hens were fine, either "assertive" enough that they didn't tolerate his rough attentions, or he just didn't like them that much. Not sure which, maybe a little of both. Now that he is out of the picture, feathers are growing back, chickens seem happy and all is peaceful. If you observe their interactions, this may help clarify.
 
We have only one roo...and 12 hens-more to come but are pullets at this point and I was thinking of adding one more BA roo from the current batch of chicks I have because then we will have at least 17-18 hens and I don't think one roo could cover them all. So maybe it is ole Joe (our roo) being rough on his favorite girls...
 
I have about 22 hens with one roo, he has his favorites.....first they started getting a bare back and now I am seeing less feathers on their heads
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. I have been watching him and instead of just holding onto the feathers like he used to he is now pulling at them, almost looks like he is pecking them. I love this roo but he is getting on my nerves with this behavior. I am putting a couple of these girls with one of my bachelors, am going to saddle them first..... hopefully he isn't as rough

btw, my roo has had no problems covering all the girls....but if you were selling hatching eggs I would add another roo
 
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I have a few polish crested who do the same thing. if they are pinned up, they could be doing it out of boardem or a protein deficiency. i give my chickens cat food with 34% crude protein once a week and store bought chicken hearts and gizzards for them and i do that once a week also. they got so bad they actually killed one of my hens (she got sick and died from the exposed tissue). i was also told to tie a head of lettuce or cabbage like a pinyata in the pin. i havnt done it because it doeant sound like it will work, but you might check it out as a last resort. i also give them ground oyster shells so they dont eat the eggs.
 
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We have the same problem. We have two roosters and they are rough on all the hens. How many hens do you have? 'Cause if you have around 15 hens it's probably the rooster's fault. Hope this helps!
 

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