Chicken losing belly feathers and has reddened irritated skin in bald spot.

[Kriscam]

It is very frustrating indeed. I’m thankful for this community! Looking forward to maybe learning something from your experience- I hope the vet is more helpful than mine!!

Today the vet took a scraping from the irritated skin and didn't see mites or any infection. He speculated that it is from the way they are resting on their roost and that they are rubbing their feathers off. This could be true since my other hen is starting to have a spot where her distended abdomen hangs over (thankfully not water belly!). They have a branch for a roost that they like to sleep on. Maybe I should try a 2x4 with the wide side up to spread out their weight? I suppose it is worth a try?

 

[Grey Gables]

Hi! Chiming in to add that I’ve had two with this issue and have not figured out what’s going on. One of them has passed, due to internal issues unfortunately. But I still have one hen who has had a bare underside since spring or early summer, I believe. Originally I thought she had plucked the feathers, as she does like to to broody. I have checked for mites and sprayed down my coop and roosts with Elector PSP once this year. My vet had wondered if red mites (?) were the cause — that feed at night and live in crevices and whatnot. My hen still has the bare skin and it’s pretty red. The vet recommended I rub some SSD cream on the red areas for a few days, which I luckily had for my horse. And that did seem to help with the redness.