Hen has rash on chest

[Soot the silkie]

One of my older hens has a patch on her chest where the feathers are missing and broken off around the edges. It is where her crop is and it looks red and a bit irritated but she doesn't mind me touching it. There is dirt and yellow gunk in the feathers around the patch. Is it something to be worried about? She is laying about once a week.

 

[Eggcessive]

Check her crop to see if it is empty, full, hard or puffy. She may be pecking her feathers out, or another bird might be. Pictures may help. Is she eating and drinking? an you check her for lice or mites around her neck and elsewhere?

 

[Soot the silkie]

Check her crop to see if it is empty, full, hard or puffy. She may be pecking her feathers out, or another bird might be. Pictures may help. Is she eating and drinking? an you check her for lice or mites around her neck and elsewhere?

Her crop seems normal. She is on top of the pecking order and I don't think she would let anyone peck her. And yes, I have checked for lice and mites.

 

[Soot the silkie]

Now I'm noticing that ALL my flock is missing some feathers in that area. Is it a seasonal thing? It has been warmer lately but that is only with highs at seventy-five degrees.

 

[junebuggena]

Broody maybe?

 

[Soot the silkie]

Broody maybe?

Pretty sure it not. It's on the upper chest.

 

[Eggcessive]

They are probably pecking them out while they are inside the coop. I lhave watched my girls as they go through their evening routine pull out feathers while sitting on the roost at night. You can try some Nustock cream, a sulfur-based cream that tastes bad, is healing, and can help to precent pecking. Are they close to their yearly molt? Do you see loose feathers laying around the coop? That also may be a possibility.

 

[Soot the silkie]

They are probably pecking them out while they are inside the coop. I lhave watched my girls as they go through their evening routine pull out feathers while sitting on the roost at night. You can try some Nustock cream, a sulfur-based cream that tastes bad, is healing, and can help to precent pecking. Are they close to their yearly molt? Do you see loose feathers laying around the coop? That also may be a possibility.

I usually watch them at night, I don't see them pecking out their feathers, but I will watch more closely. They have never molted except for one who only lost her neck feathers and tail feathers, maybe due to not having dramatic temperature shifts in our area. Could that maybe the cause of this?