Bare butt

[clifford258]

Hey folks been awhile since I've posted here. Got a couple of hens that are getting bare butts and one really bad! The worst one has lost a lot of feathers and losing them going up onto her back now. I have sand seven dust and DE bathing areas for them. And haven't found lice. The worst one is a broiler and she roost on ground thinking it may be a rat problem. But what I need to know is a major increase in protein to help get the feathers growing back because she has to be miserable. I've heard of calf manna being a good protein bonus any info will be helpful!

 

[Judy]

It sounds to me like they are pulling and eating each others' feathers, or feather picking. Usually, this is felt to be related to boredom and lack of space. and/or poor protein intake. If they are on a standard chicken feed, it may be that simply giving them a bunch more space to forage will do the trick. It seems to be generally accepted that some quantity of animal rather than vegetable sourced protein is beneficial for all flocks, and I would think especially in these cases. Sorry, I don't know a thing about calf manna. People use things like cooked eggs, meat from table scraps, mealworms or other insects intended for this use (such as black soldier flies?) or fish meal added to the feed.