Feather Picking and Chickens with Bald Spots *Updated with Photos*

[DuckDuckSook]

Hello Friends!
So, I have 6 hens who used to live with a friendly rooster named Mo. He was super nice to us but, he was rough with the hens during mating. I bought all of them saddles, which they wore for some time and I decided that Mo had to go. It was hard to let him go, but my poor chickens were suffering greatly. I removed the saddles off to help with their feather recovery. They have significant feather loss on their backs and on parts of their shoulders. We have been without the rooster for almost 2 months now. The feathers appear to be growing back in spots (fuzzy little fluff areas) but, they still look really beat up. I think they are picking on each other now. They have bald patches that appear red and inflamed. Two of the hens seem to have the least amount of feathers missing, so I assumed they were the pickers. However, I've been seeing all the chickens picking at each other at random times. I have been giving them more free range time to try to curb the behavior, but we do have a lot of foxes so I can't free range 100% of the time every day. My question is: how do I proceed? I've been putting some blue kote on the really red spots to help prevent picking there. I ordered some antimicrobial chicken pecking spray that is coming tomorrow. I've upped their protein in their diet by giving them kitty kibble, extra mealworms, and Flock Raiser crumbles instead of Layer crumbles. I know it can take up to 3 months or longer for feathers to recover, but I'm not seeing a whole lot of progress. Would it be dramatic to try to sell off this flock and start new? What would you do? Thanks in advance.

 

[Eggcessive]

How much room do they have? Can you make their run larger? Do you have any pictures of the feathers? When there is rooster damage, it may sometimes take until after the next molt before feathers grow back. Can you spend some time with them during the day, plus while they are on the roost in the evening and morning? Game cameras are also a good way to find out who is picking.

 

[Sahraschweiss]

So feather loss due to over mating/rough rooster... He doesn't pull the feathers out. He breaks them leaving the quill still attached. The quill will need to be shed like any other feathers during a molt. Growing feathers takes time. Molt is usually triggered by light/season or stress.

The redness...white/pink skinned chickens can have their exposed skin turn red from sunlight, being hot or excited/stressed. If there aren't sores or wounds or bleeding, it might be fine. Without seeing your birds, I can't be sure.

The pecking...could be bullying, could be grooming, curiosity/boredom (you have something weird on your --must peck it).

I haven't had chickens long--this is only my 3rd year. There's loads I still don't know. Maybe post some pictures and video links and see what other here have to say. Personally I would wait and give it time.

 

[DuckDuckSook]

How much room do they have? Can you make their run larger? Do you have any pictures of the feathers? When there is rooster damage, it may sometimes take until after the next molt before feathers grow back. Can you spend some time with them during the day, plus while they are on the roost in the evening and morning? Game cameras are also a good way to find out who is picking.

They are in a 10 x 10 run. I can try to take some photos tomorrow. They were a year old in March so I don't know when they would be molting next. Maybe in September? I can spend time with them during the day on weekends and this summer. (I'm a teacher).

 

[DuckDuckSook]

So feather loss due to over mating/rough rooster... He doesn't pull the feathers out. He breaks them leaving the quill still attached. The quill will need to be shed like any other feathers during a molt. Growing feathers takes time. Molt is usually triggered by light/season or stress.

The redness...white/pink skinned chickens can have their exposed skin turn red from sunlight, being hot or excited/stressed. If there aren't sores or wounds or bleeding, it might be fine. Without seeing your birds, I can't be sure.

The pecking...could be bullying, could be grooming, curiosity/boredom (you have something weird on your --must peck it).

I haven't had chickens long--this is only my 3rd year. There's loads I still don't know. Maybe post some pictures and video links and see what other here have to say. Personally I would wait and give it time.

I do see some broken quills still there and I knew those wouldn't be replaced until a molt. I could try to remove them myself but there are too many and I think that would freak the birds out a lot. There aren't any sores, wounds, or bleeding that I can see, just red, sore looking bald patches. I'm hoping that spray I will get tomorrow will help heal those areas and give them time to improve. Back story of the flock, 3 of the hens were the original ones and then I added 3 more of them plus the rooster. I really really took my time integrating them in over the course of several weeks and they were fine, especially with the rooster. The added in 3 were 3 months younger than the original 3 birds. I'm wondering if by getting rid of the rooster, I messed up the harmony and that is why birds are picking each other. I don't know. I sit and think about all the possibilities and it's exhausting. I can't change what has already happened so I'm just trying to find the best way forward.

 

[DuckDuckSook]

Meanwhile, my other flock (6 hens too) in a separate coop and run are thriving. Aside from a broody Polish hen, they are doing really well in the same amount of space. Now, they were all together from the start so they've never had to integrate or deal with a rooster.

 

[DuckDuckSook]

The below photo is our Buff Orp. She was the rooster's favorite by far. You can see her back and her shoulders. I sprayed blue kote on the shoulder.

The below pic is our Blue Orp. She doesn't have nearly as many feathers missing, so I thought she might be doing the picking. She is a bit of a bully. Her rear under her tail is missing some feathers, but nothing major.

The one below is one of the Cinnamon Queens. You can see some of her back and shoulder areas and where I sprayed blue kote.

The one below shows another Cinnamon Queen with the missing feathers on the back near the tail and the inflamed red skin. I also put blue kote in that area.

The one below is a better shot of the one above.

The one below shows our Easter Egger. She's in the best shape by far. She was the rooster's least favorite as she is very fast and he couldn't catch her. I thought maybe she's the picker, but I haven't seen her doing it.

Now that I've posted all of these, I'm thinking that the damage I'm seeing is still just from the rooster. I should have gotten rid of him much sooner. Do you all think it's just rooster damage and will just take time to heal or is there something else going on here? Thanks!

 

[Eggcessive]

Roosters usually will calm down, but young ones may overmate the hens. In that small area, having a rooster probably won’t work well. I like having one in a flock that free ranges. The hens usually feel safe, and like to be near him. He settles any arguments, and keeps the peace. But unless you want chicks, they are not necessary.

Yes, those feathers won’t grow back until later this year when the young ones have their molt. 16-18 months and yearly, thereafter is the usual age. Pine tar may help prevent pecking due to it’s bad taste and stickiness. In a real bully, pinless peepers can help if applied to the pecker, so she can’t see her target well. She would be able to eat and drink fine.

My original hens suffered feather loss in the saddle area from the young rooster. A few wore some homemade one piece no sew polar fleece hen saddles that year until they molted. He calmed down and they never needed them again. Here is a pattern to cut out wing slits, and they just slip on:
http://www.linnacresfarm.com/2014/04/how-to-make-simple-hen-saddleapron.html

 

[Sahraschweiss]

It looks like rooster rash. You will have to wait for them to go through their molt. Mostly likely in the fall.

 

[DuckDuckSook]

Roosters usually will calm down, but young ones may overmate the hens. In that small area, having a rooster probably won’t work well. I like having one in a flock that free ranges. The hens usually feel safe, and like to be near him. He settles any arguments, and keeps the peace. But unless you want chicks, they are not necessary.

Yes, those feathers won’t grow back until later this year when the young ones have their molt. 16-18 months and yearly, thereafter is the usual age. Pine tar may help prevent pecking due to it’s bad taste and stickiness. In a real bully, pinless peepers can help if applied to the pecker, so she can’t see her target well. She would be able to eat and drink fine.

My original hens suffered feather loss in the saddle area from the young rooster. A few wore some homemade one piece no sew polar fleece hen saddles that year until they molted. He calmed down and they never needed them again. Here is a pattern to cut out wing slits, and they just slip on:
http://www.linnacresfarm.com/2014/04/how-to-make-simple-hen-saddleapron.html

He was a young rooster and I didn't have them free ranging during the winter so it was just too much togetherness. I didn't really need him, we just liked him so much and thought he'd protect them. I'll just wait for their molt and hope things improve. I'm going to put some of the special spray on them that I bought and see if that helps things. I had saddles on all of them when the rooster was around and they still look like that. It was just significant overmating with a very hormonal rooster. I'll let you know if anything changes or if I suspect something else.