Help needed - Polish hen plucking own feathers-no apparent reason-ideas?

[franklinchickens]

I have a year old Polish hen who is apparently plucking and eating her own feathers. I say eating because I don't see any laying around and that is one of the things I've read on here. I don't post this topic lightly as I've checked the following:

• diet of Layena, fruits & veggies, mealworms, plain yogurt and scratch
• lots of space - only 6 hens and at least 300 s/f including the coop/run/penned in yard for them
• no mites or lice as far as I can tell though she is the most skittish of our hens (most are super friendly) and hard to pin down to check but no other hens have any issues
• plenty of fresh water & shade
• regular egg layer - 4-5 a week - no weak shells or oddness going on

I should mention she is at the bottom of the pecking order but there's no real aggression going on that I've seen besides the normal type of stuff. We make sure she gets her share. But her bum is completely bald (still has tail feathers but her poofy bum feathers are all gone) and she has a big bare spot on her chest.The skin underneath looks fine - no open sores or wounds. I've seen her picking occasionally but she doesn't do it when we are around usually. I can't guarantee that other hens aren't doing it but I've never seen it. She also roosts on in the run, not near the other hens in the coop (the whole run and coop are predator proof) though she used to roost in a tree and we'd have to fetch her every night. Kind of a loner.
I tried this purple goo stuff for several days that she didn't seem to like but as soon as it was gone, she started right back up again.
All of our hens are easy to pick up and handle except her - she's very flighty and does not like to be touched which makes it hard for regular treatments. All of the other girls (various breeds) are full feathered, calm and friendly. This one is not.
I'm really baffled and don't know what to do for her.
It's been going on for about 4 months.
Any ideas would be appreciated. Thank you!

 

[Mud Pie]

I have 6 Polish that are really great backyard hens. They are about 14 months old now. They have been laying since Christmas. We have only recently had warmer weather here on the west coast. This past week one of the birds apparently started molting. Unfortunately she is being picked on by the others, but their day will come! In fact I just separated her from the others tonight because she has become so picked upon. Miss Featherly was the first to lay eggs. Several others appear to have started molting as well. I suspect that may be what is happening to yours.

My understanding is that chickens will eat feathers if they are short of calcium. I provide mine with lots of oyster shells as well as fresh kale from the garden for their calcium needs. Their eggs have strong eggshells. If the other chickens are eating the feathers then maybe providing more calcium would help. There are feathers everywhere in the coop and pen here. I clean it out weekly to maintain a nice pen.

Hope this helps!

 

[franklinchickens]

I really appreciate the reply - I don't think she is molting though it may be a possibility. I've had several other hens molt but none have looked like this, and I don't see any feathers! Perhaps it is just an odd molt but it's been going on such a while. They all get a really good diet - pretty spoiled actually - and lots of space plus its really clean (we live in a downtown neighborhood and my coop is right outside the back door). They have oyster shell out all the time, get plain yogurt several times a week and have a full feed that has calcium in it. I'd heard the part about the calcium and protein so that was the first thing I thought of but it's all there. And her shells are hard. But maybe it is a molt just different from the other girls. Interestingly, I see occasional feathers from other hens but not hers (she's black & white and none of the other girls are so I can tell whose are whose). When I've had other hens molting, I get big piles of feathers blowing around.
I'm not sure what else to add for calcium but maybe I'll hand feed her some oyster shell daily and see if that helps. Again, I appreciate the ideas.

 

[Den in Penn]

Keep up with the goo. If it were molt it should have been over by now. I suspect others are helping her, you just haven't caught them. Feathers are mostly protein. Most feather picking is either them looking for protein or boredom. Try cutting down on everything but their feed and meal worms for awhile. There are other things to try like seperation and pinless peepers.