Bleeding on neck. Maybe molting?

[DanaSue11]

So, sometime in the last two hours my little red hen that is molting started to bleed a bit on the underside of her neck. I'm not really sure what happened, but it doesn't appear that she is bleeding badly or there are any cuts or gouges. I have separated her from the others and put her in the chicken hotel in the garage and she is settling in nicely. I don't want the others pecking at her. I'm reluctant to wipe her neck down where it's bleeding to get a better look because I *think* there are pin feathers coming through and I don't want to disrupt them. She has high protein scratch and immune boost in her water. Any other thoughts? Anything I'm missing?

 

[Eggcessive]

Scratch is not high enough protein. They need either a balanced layer feed if laying, or chick grower or flock raiser that contains 16-20% protein. Scratch contains 8% protein at best. I would put her back inside the coop in a dog crate if possible, with food and water. Chopped egg or tuna can be given to increase protein. If she is molting, her pin feathers may be especially attractive to others. Feather picking may occur if there is too little room or they are not getting outside to roam, if they are bored, or getting too little protein. There may be other reasons as well, such as age or breed differences. BluKote or antipecking creams can be used on the bare skin to discourage pecking.

 

[DanaSue11]

Scratch is not high enough protein. They need either a balanced layer feed if laying, or chick grower or flock raiser that contains 16-20% protein. Scratch contains 8% protein at best. I would put her back inside the coop in a dog crate if possible, with food and water. Chopped egg or tuna can be given to increase protein. If she is molting, her pin feathers may be especially attractive to others. Feather picking may occur if there is too little room or they are not getting outside  to roam, if they are bored, or getting too little protein. There may be other reasons as well, such as age or breed differences. BluKote or antipecking creams can be used on the bare skin to discourage pecking.

Sorry. I'm not feeding her scratch--not sure why I said that! I'm currently feeding her crumbles that are 20% protein. I do think this is a broken pin feather. I checked on her just a bit ago and the bleeding has stopped. I need to run out and get some BluKote in the morning, clean her up and then will put her back with her pals, and probably in the dog crate in the run at night. It's not going to get below freezing for a while. I didn't want to leave her with her pals when she is bloody. Thanks so much for your input. It sounds like I'm on the right track.

 

[Pork Pie]

This link may be useful to you - https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1148824/topic-of-the-week-feather-pecking-eating