Bare butt

[Ayla427]

My Buff Orpington hen has a bare butt. Some other feathers look scraggly, and I think I see some new feather growth, but she's only missing feathers on her backside. None of the other chickens are missing feathers. She's not lowest in the pecking order, and doesn't act bothered by it. I don't see any of the others going after her either (but I'm mostly with them when I let them out in the yard, otherwise they're in the coop and run). Behavior seems normal. Coop is 8'x12' and the run is 6'x16'. I have six adult hens, two 12-week old chicks, and three 8-week old chicks. We have a fox in our neighborhood so I only let them out 1-2x/day while I can be with them.

I looked for lice or mites, but I don't think I see anything. Please correct me if I'm wrong!! She's about 14 months old.

 

[Debbie292d]

My Buff Orpington hen has a bare butt. Some other feathers look scraggly, and I think I see some new feather growth, but she's only missing feathers on her backside. None of the other chickens are missing feathers. She's not lowest in the pecking order, and doesn't act bothered by it. I don't see any of the others going after her either (but I'm mostly with them when I let them out in the yard, otherwise they're in the coop and run). Behavior seems normal. Coop is 8'x12' and the run is 6'x16'. I have six adult hens, two 12-week old chicks, and three 8-week old chicks. We have a fox in our neighborhood so I only let them out 1-2x/day while I can be with them.

I looked for lice or mites, but I don't think I see anything. Please correct me if I'm wrong!! She's about 14 months old.

I think that could be mites. I would dust them all with some poultry powder or something with permethrin in it, just in case. She's at the age she could be molting too, but usually, that starts at the head feathers and works its way back to the butt. Is she laying eggs that you know of?

 

[Chickenma2021]

My Buff Orpington hen has a bare butt. Some other feathers look scraggly, and I think I see some new feather growth, but she's only missing feathers on her backside. None of the other chickens are missing feathers. She's not lowest in the pecking order, and doesn't act bothered by it. I don't see any of the others going after her either (but I'm mostly with them when I let them out in the yard, otherwise they're in the coop and run). Behavior seems normal. Coop is 8'x12' and the run is 6'x16'. I have six adult hens, two 12-week old chicks, and three 8-week old chicks. We have a fox in our neighborhood so I only let them out 1-2x/day while I can be with them.

I looked for lice or mites, but I don't think I see anything. Please correct me if I'm wrong!! She's about 14 months old.

This looks like feather picking. My hens have gone through a lot of bald butt stages. Check for mites just in case. Get some anti-peck or blue-kote, a 20% protein feed and some entertainment and your problem will be solved. You don't always see them picking feathers and it doesn't always look aggressive, it can become a habit for them.

 

[Tookie]

That looks like feather picking.
Space isn't an issue, as you've got plenty of that. So what's their diet?
I also think she could be starting a molt, as I see some new feathers coming in.

 

[Ayla427]

I think that could be mites. I would dust them all with some poultry powder or something with permethrin in it, just in case. She's at the age she could be molting too, but usually, that starts at the head feathers and works its way back to the butt. Is she laying eggs that you know of?

I think so? Maybe fewer than usual lately, but it's hard for me to tell.

 

[Ayla427]

That looks like feather picking.
Space isn't an issue, as you've got plenty of that. So what's their diet?
I also think she could be starting a molt, as I see some new feathers coming in.

They get layer crumble, plus some of the grower feed they sneak that's meant for the younger ones. I'll check the protein percentage in the two feeds. I imagine the grower feed might be ok if she's going through her first molt. My other two buffs went broody over the summer so maybe that throws off a molting schedule?

 

[Ayla427]

This looks like feather picking. My hens have gone through a lot of bald butt stages. Check for mites just in case. Get some anti-peck or blue-kote, a 20% protein feed and some entertainment and your problem will be solved. You don't always see them picking feathers and it doesn't always look aggressive, it can become a habit for them.

Any tips for checking for mites? I don't see any creepy crawlies on her, nor did I see anything in the coop when I checked (both during the day and at night when they were on the roost). But I know they can be hard to see! These are my first chickens so I don't have experience with things going wrong yet...

 

[Tookie]

They get layer crumble, plus some of the grower feed they sneak that's meant for the younger ones. I'll check the protein percentage in the two feeds. I imagine the grower feed might be ok if she's going through her first molt.

Grower feed is okay for all ages and at any time, many people actually feed that instead of layer and have oyster shells on the side so the layers can get what they want.

My other two buffs went broody over the summer so maybe that throws off a molting schedule?

I would think no, but I could be wrong.

 

[Debbie292d]

They get layer crumble, plus some of the grower feed they sneak that's meant for the younger ones. I'll check the protein percentage in the two feeds. I imagine the grower feed might be ok if she's going through her first molt. My other two buffs went broody over the summer so maybe that throws off a molting schedule?

Grower feed is fine, it's just short on calcium mostly so you'd have to be sure to have some oyster shell out there for them. Usually molting is at the end of a laying cycle or seasonal, but both are under the control of their hormones. From what I know, they may molt after being broody, but I've never had them do both at the same time. After the ones molt, they aren't broody for a while.