feather loss on lower back?

[ebertschic]

2 of my hens have feather loss on their lower back. At first i thought it was molting and then maybe the roosters being too rough when doing the deed...but ive secluded the roosters for a couple weeks and theres on improvement. In fact a third hen is starting to lose her feathers there as well. Can someone help?

Thanks in advance...
J

 

[CuteChick369]

It sure does look like the job of a rooster to me! Do you think you might have a bully hen? I had a hen who suddenly became aggressive towards the bantams and would mount them. I had to give her to another home where her behavior is much better, but my bantams backs looked like that too.

Give them extra protein to help with feather growth. Give them eggs, mealworms or tuna fish - all are high in protein.

 

[enola]

It looks like you have an opprotunist picker in your flock. She will be walking around through the flock, picking off a feather here and there. Take time to just watch the flock one day, after you have watched the flock long enough, they will go about their regular actions. When you figure out which hen/hens is doing the feather picking you can put 'pinless peepers' on her.

 

[ebertschic]

I can't imagine it's an aggressive hen, the silver laced wyandotte is on the top of the pecking order. I got half my hens in april 2013 and the other half in May 2014. The two groups basically stay with their own. The wyandotte is from the 2013 group and the buff orpington is from the 2014 group. I would be more inclined to think it was an agressive hen if they were both from the same group and then picked on from a hen in the other group.

I will definitely be spending time through the course of the week watching them. It's how I like to spend my time anyway...but it stinks it's been raining all week.

I will give them tuna and eggs tomorrow morning and start the healing process.

Also, I looked up "pinless peepers" and that's hysterical. What a story I'll tell guests that come to my house and see a chicken strolling around the yard with one of those on. They kind of look like bifocals.

~J~

 

[enola]

I didn't say the picker is an aggressive hen. I said an 'opprotunistic' picker. One of your hen is walking through the flock randomly picking feathers and then eating it.

And yes, pinless peepers look hysterical, but they work. They keep hens from looking straight ahead, thus stopping them from zeroing in on feathers.

 

[ebertschic]

The aggressive hen idea came from "CuteChick369" who posted before you, so I was responding to that suggestion.

I will keep a watchful eye on them to see if there's any bullying or random picking and hope to catch the culprit.

 

[Stacyc]

I have the same on two of my girls, they are on the bottem of the pecking order and I have witnessed them getting their feathers pulled out by other hens, and my roo seems to favor them as well. Going to have a friend knit up some saddles.