Hen loosing her tush feathers...

[GBChickenMom]

I have a hen that is about 1.5 years old. She seems happy, healthy and seems to be laying eggs. She has lost all the feathers on her tush in about a 2 inch wide strip under her vent. There is also some poop stuck to the feathers that are left on her backside. Is there anything that I can do for her besides keep her clean? I read that yogurt may help if it’s runny poop. Any thoughts or other ideas???

 

[Ebony Rose]

Gonna want a picture of her tush please.

 

[GBChickenMom]

 

[nightowl223]

It could be one of a few things I can think of. She could be overpreening herself, possibly because of poo sticking to the feathers there. It could also be other chickens picking the festhers there, also likely due to poo sticking there. I try to keep my girls' back ends trimmed to help prevent poo collection.

But I'm not thrilled with the amount of white there. There really shouldn't be that much white, which is the "urine" part of their poo. I'm wondering if she is not eating as much as she should be. Does her keel bone seem as padded as much as everyone else's? Does she appear to be losing weight? She might be wormy, too. A fecal test might be in order, if you can get a vet that will do one.

 

[GBChickenMom]

It could be one of a few things I can think of. She could be overpreening herself, possibly because of poo sticking to the feathers there. It could also be other chickens picking the festhers there, also likely due to poo sticking there. I try to keep my girls' back ends trimmed to help prevent poo collection.

But I'm not thrilled with the amount of white there. There really shouldn't be that much white, which is the "urine" part of their poo. I'm wondering if she is not eating as much as she should be. Does her keel bone seem as padded as much as everyone else's? Does she appear to be losing weight? She might be wormy, too. A fecal test might be in order, if you can get a vet that will do one.

Thanks for the ideas. Do you trim the backend with a scissors? Do you do this in the winter too?

I don’t think the others are pecking her, I have watched quite a bit and they don’t seem to be bothering her. I don’t have good vet options here, so getting her tested for anything will be hard, could I worm her anyway? I have not done this before, so not familiar with what products to use or if it’s acceptable to warm them if it’s not totally necessary. Thanks again for all the advice!

 

[GBChickenMom]

Also, can one be wormy and the others not? Or do you worm the whole flock regardless?

 

[Downtown Chickens]

If one hen turns up to have worms you would deworm them all. If you can't find a vet to do a fecal test you can get a fecal test from Amazon or Petsmart. The tests are not expensive.

 

[DellaMyDarling]

I have 2 gals in my flock that came to me the same way, one is minor, and one is pretty extensive. I posted a thread about it a while ago. A few girls also have some large tail feathers broken.
As far as I can tell, my girl is having her rump plucked. I've witnessed another hen getting pesky with her on the roost. Turning her over reveals a few feathers broken off part way, lots of bits of feather quill (?) remaining. A few pieces I was able to easily remove with fingernails and it does appear those are starting to grow new feathers in place.
Knowing that this group of hens came from crowded conditions, and now that they have more space and multiple roosts, my two most feather missing ladies are roosting away from the rest. They roost together every night now across the coop from the supposed plucker.
Seems indicative to me that this explains my bare rumped hen.

 

[DellaMyDarling]

I should add, however, that like a previous poster said, she could be plucking herself. I'd see if that rump cleans up at all.
I do not appear to have any poo or cleanliness issues on my girls rumps, just missing feathers.

 

[nightowl223]

Thanks for the ideas. Do you trim the backend with a scissors? Do you do this in the winter too?

I don’t think the others are pecking her, I have watched quite a bit and they don’t seem to be bothering her. I don’t have good vet options here, so getting her tested for anything will be hard, could I worm her anyway? I have not done this before, so not familiar with what products to use or if it’s acceptable to warm them if it’s not totally necessary. Thanks again for all the advice!

I never trim very deep in the winter, but if poo is collecting there, I definitely trim whatever feathers are coated in poo. And even insummer, I don't trim clear to the skin level, because I don't accidentally want to get hold of a young feather that might bleed. The biggest troublemakers are my extra-fluffy ladies, like the Banty Cochins or the French Marans. My Light Brahmas are extra-fluffy, too, but seem to manage to stay cleaner than the other girls. And, yeah, it's possible one could be wormy (or wormier than the others), but I prefer to worm everyone the same time.