Help My Girl Is Going Bald!

[wolfgirl29]

One of my girls is going bald just above her tail feathers. I have checked her for mites but have not found anything. Out of my five girls she is the only one who is having this problem. It seems that her loss of feathers started right about the time we started getting one less egg per day. I am not sure if she is the one not laying. But it is kind of stange that the lack of egg started around the loss of feathers. Does anyone have any advice? This is the first group of girls for me so I am not sure what to think. Thanks for any advice.

 

[chicmom]

Do you have a rooster? She may be his favorite and he might be wearing off those feathers if he's mating with her alot. A hen saddle will do the trick.

Or, you may have a feather puller, and she might be low in the pecking order.....Set a spell, and watch your hens interact. You may see the culprit.

 

[hdowden]

she could be starting to molt...i think

 

[wolfgirl29]

Thank you for the information. We do not have a rooster so I know that is not the issue. I think you may be right about us having a feather puller. We did have an issue when we first brought them home with two of our girls. The others pulled there feathers out and we had to seperate them until they healed because they pecked them bloody. That was the last time that happened though and the one that is having issues now was one that was doing the pulling. I wil sit out with them and see what I come up with. Thanks again.

 

[MetalSmitten]

i would also suspect perhaps molting. especially if they're older than a year, they tend to start molting right around this time of year and will also stop or slow down with eggs during a molt. if you see a feather-puller then by all means, take care of that hehe, but don't worry too too much if she seems otherwise healthy.

 

[wolfgirl29]

Thank you for the information on molting. I will keep an eye on them and see what happens. I did not know when to expect them to molt and they are right around a year now. I am so excited to have found the forum. It is nice to get advice from those who have first hand knowledge.