Butt picking

[mbodamer]

Hello
I have 12 chickens that I got all at exactly the same time they are all exactly the same age. 6 cinnimon queens, 3 barred rock, 3 Easter eggers. They are all 18 months. A few months ago I noticed one chicken had a raw butt. I quarantined it and the feathers slowly began to grow back and I out it back with the flock. Shortly thereafter I noticed 4 chickens have raw butts. Fearing mites or something like that I took one to the vet and was very clearly told it was bullying. The chickens were in good shape other then having the feathers pulled out. Recommendation was to find the bully and pull that one out. I have spent hours watching them and cannot find a bully. I sit in the area with them and they are perfectly fine. I have a chicken cam in the roosting area at night and I don't see anything going on. How can I find out what's going on any other suggestions? I am putting bluekote on the butts a few times a week but they aren't getting better meaning no feathers. One chicken had ingrown feathers that I had to use a razor knife to slice the soon to pull out the feathers trapped under. I am afraid that I am losing this battle and I don't want them to be hurting. How can I help them? Here is an example of the raw butt. Is there anything else I can put on it besides bluekote?

 

[TwentyOneChickens]

Hello
I have 12 chickens that I got all at exactly the same time they are all exactly the same age. 6 cinnimon queens, 3 barred rock, 3 Easter eggers. They are all 18 months. A few months ago I noticed one chicken had a raw butt. I quarantined it and the feathers slowly began to grow back and I out it back with the flock. Shortly thereafter I noticed 4 chickens have raw butts. Fearing mites or something like that I took one to the vet and was very clearly told it was bullying. The chickens were in good shape other then having the feathers pulled out. Recommendation was to find the bully and pull that one out. I have spent hours watching them and cannot find a bully. I sit in the area with them and they are perfectly fine. I have a chicken cam in the roosting area at night and I don't see anything going on. How can I find out what's going on any other suggestions? I am putting bluekote on the butts a few times a week but they aren't getting better meaning no feathers. One chicken had ingrown feathers that I had to use a razor knife to slice the soon to pull out the feathers trapped under. I am afraid that I am losing this battle and I don't want them to be hurting. How can I help them? Here is an example of the raw butt. Is there anything else I can put on it besides bluekote?

This is currently happening to my girl, Martha. She always has a poopy butt and the other chickens peck at the poop stuck to her butt feathers (gross right) and once I washed her and got the poop off her butt, the feathers started growing back. She’s not completely healed yet, but maybe this is the case with your girl?

 

[slordaz]

amazon has a camera you can hook up that's pretty cheap and watch on your phone or computer, as the culprit is obviously a smart ass and knows it gets caught by you it's gonna be in trouble , other option is try watchmaking from more of a distance so they don't realize you are observing. unless ya wanna do a warm bucket soak and make sure there is nothing on there for them to pick at least ones a day.

@oldhenlikesdogs
@casportpony
any other ideas on figuring out the culprit and something other she might try for the girls

 

[Sequel]

Hello
I have 12 chickens that I got all at exactly the same time they are all exactly the same age. 6 cinnimon queens, 3 barred rock, 3 Easter eggers. They are all 18 months. A few months ago I noticed one chicken had a raw butt. I quarantined it and the feathers slowly began to grow back and I out it back with the flock. Shortly thereafter I noticed 4 chickens have raw butts. Fearing mites or something like that I took one to the vet and was very clearly told it was bullying. The chickens were in good shape other then having the feathers pulled out. Recommendation was to find the bully and pull that one out. I have spent hours watching them and cannot find a bully. I sit in the area with them and they are perfectly fine. I have a chicken cam in the roosting area at night and I don't see anything going on. How can I find out what's going on any other suggestions? I am putting bluekote on the butts a few times a week but they aren't getting better meaning no feathers. One chicken had ingrown feathers that I had to use a razor knife to slice the soon to pull out the feathers trapped under. I am afraid that I am losing this battle and I don't want them to be hurting. How can I help them? Here is an example of the raw butt. Is there anything else I can put on it besides bluekote?

Hi there! My friend is an experienced vet tech and she told me to use some hydrocortisone cream on the redness. My first two chickens were ones that were picked so bad they were almost naked when I got them.

The other thing is how much room do they have and what are they eating? I would make sure they had enough protein and not give carby treats while they're trying to grow feathers.

Good luck to you, I know it can be so frustrating trying to figure these things out. You cared enough to take them to the vet and to ask here so I'm sure you'll figure out what's going on.

 

[Carolei]

Apparently new feathers coming in are full of protein and chickens will pick the new feathers to get the protein. I have read recommendations to increase the protein in the chickens' diet by adding eggs, meal worms, grubs and grower feed. Isolating the culprits or the victims is also a good idea. One problem is that the new feathers coming in are the most appealing to the perpetrators, so it's hard for the victims to grow back their feathers. I also think isolation can help because this behavior can become a habit for the culprit and can also be copied by other birds. Good luck!

 

[dawg53]

Hello
I have 12 chickens that I got all at exactly the same time they are all exactly the same age. 6 cinnimon queens, 3 barred rock, 3 Easter eggers. They are all 18 months. A few months ago I noticed one chicken had a raw butt. I quarantined it and the feathers slowly began to grow back and I out it back with the flock. Shortly thereafter I noticed 4 chickens have raw butts. Fearing mites or something like that I took one to the vet and was very clearly told it was bullying. The chickens were in good shape other then having the feathers pulled out. Recommendation was to find the bully and pull that one out. I have spent hours watching them and cannot find a bully. I sit in the area with them and they are perfectly fine. I have a chicken cam in the roosting area at night and I don't see anything going on. How can I find out what's going on any other suggestions? I am putting bluekote on the butts a few times a week but they aren't getting better meaning no feathers. One chicken had ingrown feathers that I had to use a razor knife to slice the soon to pull out the feathers trapped under. I am afraid that I am losing this battle and I don't want them to be hurting. How can I help them? Here is an example of the raw butt. Is there anything else I can put on it besides bluekote?

Buy Nu-Stock at your feed store, it'll be in the equine section. Apply Nu-stock on their rear end and on the red areas. It will heal the red area in no time and prevent picking and pecking at the same time. Make sure you shake the tube well before applying Nu-Stock and wear disposable gloves.

 

[dawg53]

This is currently happening to my girl, Martha. She always has a poopy butt and the other chickens peck at the poop stuck to her butt feathers (gross right) and once I washed her and got the poop off her butt, the feathers started growing back. She’s not completely healed yet, but maybe this is the case with your girl?

For poopy butt, use a garden hose with spray nozzle to wash away feces stuck in feathers and fluff. Then release her to go about her business. The sun and heat of the day will dry her rear end. Urates in feces will scald skin causing bare skin and redness. You can apply Nu-stock as I mentioned in the previous post.

 

[TwentyOneChickens]

For poopy butt, use a garden hose with spray nozzle to wash away feces stuck in feathers and fluff. Then release her to go about her business. The sun and heat of the day will dry her rear end. Urates in feces will scald skin causing bare skin and redness. You can apply Nu-stock as I mentioned in the previous post.

I normally just give her a bath with warm water, let her soak for 5 mins, then clean her butt. I’ll keep that in mind though!

 

[mbodamer]

This is currently happening to my girl, Martha. She always has a poopy butt and the other chickens peck at the poop stuck to her butt feathers (gross right) and once I washed her and got the poop off her butt, the feathers started growing back. She’s not completely healed yet, but maybe this is the case with your girl?

Thanks for your reply in definitely not poop butt. The 4 affected are nice and clean and I have one Easter egger that has chronic poop butt that's feathers intact.

 

[mbodamer]

amazon has a camera you can hook up that's pretty cheap and watch on your phone or computer, as the culprit is obviously a smart ass and knows it gets caught by you it's gonna be in trouble , other option is try watchmaking from more of a distance so they don't realize you are observing. unless ya wanna do a warm bucket soak and make sure there is nothing on there for them to pick at least ones a day.

@oldhenlikesdogs
@casportpony
any other ideas on figuring out the culprit and something other she might try for the girls

Yeah I already have a wyze cam setup and I do not see anything. It's very frustrating.