Bare spot above hens' tails

[Garden Gal]

Three of my hens have developed bare spots above their tails. The areas are about the size of a quarter, perhaps a little larger. I assume it is caused by the rooster, but have done the following:

Checked the hens for lice using a magnifying glass - don't see anything which resembles mice.

Cleaned the area and applied Blue Coat.

Gave each hen a new "saddle"

The coop is 7 x 10 and has ten birds. The outside enclosed run is approx. 15 x 20'. I've never seen any of the hens picking on each other and there is more than enough room for everyone on the roost boards.

Am I missing anything? Could this be something else other than the roo or lice which I need to look for? Out of 20 hens I'm getting 14.5 eggs a day so far this month, so they seem to be healthy and happy! (There are two sides to the coop - both the sizes mentioned above and the flock is divided between the two sides.)

Thanks for any input!

 

[Summer Rose Farm]

some of are hen's have the same thing but without a rooster but we saw the hen's were grabbing the feather's by the tail section to get the hen in the nest box to move out from the box so they can lay
kinda a chick fight hope this help's

 

[Kacey's Krazee's]

somebody will prolly come on and help with more info, but what I have read here while lurking, is that it could be a problem with protein. Making eggs and growing feathers takes protein, and if the chickens are not getting enough of it, will peck and eat each others feathers for it. You may want to check the protien level in your feed, and check how much and what type of foods you are giving them for treats. If indeed it is a problem with protein, I have also read that Calfmanna is a good source of protein, and it's something you can get at TSC or possibly at your local feed store. Hope this helps some.


ETA: you could also check on the index under managing you flock, and they have a thread there for treats that are good for you babies.

 

[b.hromada]

Yes, it sounds like they are pecking each other. Try some blue kote to cover the bare spots, and to keep them from pecking further. Hope this helps.

 

[Garden Gal]

Thanks for the input... I have a hard thinking it might be a protein issue since these gals are literally laying machines; their egg production has increased steadily over the past several weeks. With that said, I'm fairly new at this so I could be wrong on that.

Obviously SOMETHING is going on so I'll keep an open mind to that as well as do some more reading. Thanks everyone!