bare patch on back

[PeggySueQ]

I bought an 11-month-old hen from a local breeder to keep my one chicken company. When I got her she had a bare patch above her tail with a few straggly small feathers poking through. She does not have bugs. The skin is not black. This area has not healed. Sometimes the skin is slightly red. A couple of times there has been a blood spot - I think my other hen has pecked her. I want to put something on it to help the area heal. What can I use? She can preen there so it has to be something she can ingest.

 

[chicmom]

Sounds like she was pecked before you got her. (That's a spot that chickens like to peck for some reason.) Now, the others are attracted to the bald spot, so it can be hard to grow feathers back there. There's a spray you can buy at TSC called Blue Cote. It is actually a bright blue, and if you spray it on the bald spot, it also deters pecking. There's something about the color that chickens don't like. Anyhow. That's what I would try.

 

[peaceful]

You could also try making up a custom "chicken saddle" cover of duct tape to protect the area and let the feathers grow back.
In terms of an ingestable healing balm maybe aloe vera or vitamin E?

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

She had been over bred by a rooster. The feathers will grow back. As long as it is not bleeding, she will be fine without any intervention.

 

[Rorys peeps]

i agree. was she with a rooster? i have only 4 hens with a rooster and they all have bare backs. I now keep the rooster in a separate run to give the girls a break and allow the feathers to grow back. i will only let them run together when i want fertile eggs.

 

[ChickScofflaw]

i've had this problem too, but never had roosters. my polish has been bare backed for upwards of 6 months. No sores, no real signs of new feathers. just looks naked. what could it be?

 

[ColoradoGirl42]

I was looking for info on the same problem, and ran across this (old) thread. Did anyone figure out how to deal with this successfully?