Hey there BYC! Recently I've noticed that my Austalorp's feathers have been looking a bit strange. I started observing her and my other two hens closely to see if they were picking on her since she's at the bottom of the pecking order. Surprisingly, it appears she is doing the damage to herself. She is not actually pulling any feathers out; she seems to be biting at them, clipping them short and making it look as though someone's come at her with a pair of scissors. This is the best picture I could get of her.
All of the damage is on her back. We've examined her underside and the only issues she's got there is some missing feathers that she pulled a while ago when she was starting to go broody. Most of those are starting to grow back and it doesn't look like she has continued pulling them out.
If anyone has any clue why she might be doing this and what we can do to make her stop, I'd love some feedback. Thanks guys!
All of the damage is on her back. We've examined her underside and the only issues she's got there is some missing feathers that she pulled a while ago when she was starting to go broody. Most of those are starting to grow back and it doesn't look like she has continued pulling them out.
If anyone has any clue why she might be doing this and what we can do to make her stop, I'd love some feedback. Thanks guys!
