Hen wing feathers gone?? Help please!

[martinsa5]

Hi, I'm wondering if there is anything I can do for my hen. She has had feather loss at the very base of her wings (the "armpit" area)... its such a strange location, as I know it is not being caused from the rooster. Also, the feathers have not been plucked out entirely. The thick base of the feather is still there in the skin, but the feather itself is gone. This is occurring on both of her wings, and it is only the one hen that this is happening to. Thanks so much in advance.

 

[CascadiaRiver]

Could she have been burned by a heat-lamp? We have bantam EE hens that get picked on by a few larger girls and they really mess up some feathers but not entirely pluck out. Perhaps she had something tasty stuck to her "armpit" and her sisters took care of it?

 

[martinsa5]

No she wasn't burned, I don't have any heat sources in our coop. Maybe she was picking at something on her feathers, I'm just confused as to why it's occurring on both sides! Thanks for the reply

 

[Kiki]

No she wasn't burned, I don't have any heat sources in our coop. Maybe she was picking at something on her feathers, I'm just confused as to why it's occurring on both sides! Thanks for the reply

Can you post a picture of her?

 

[martinsa5]

Can you post a picture of her?

Please help! Could it be rodents? How do I keep them out of my coop without any poisons/traps? We have pets around

 

[Kiki]

Im not sure a chicken would keep still long enough for a rodent to eat the feathers.
i do not think that is what is happening, but in order to keep rodents away you must make sure there is no tiny holes anywhere for them to get in.
If you do not have a cement floor it could be hard for you to keep them from digging under to get in.
Make sure you pick up all food and water at night...don't leave anything for the rodents to eat/drink.

Have you checked your chicken for bugs?

 

[martinsa5]

Yes I have checked for mites/lice, even though they are regularly given Diatomacious Earth both in their feed and around the coop. Unfortunately my coop is just on dirt so there is no way to keep the rodents from digging under.

 

[Kiki]

Yes I have checked for mites/lice, even though they are regularly given Diatomacious Earth both in their feed and around the coop. Unfortunately my coop is just on dirt so there is no way to keep the rodents from digging under.

Do you have a big box home store near by?
Lowes or Home depot..they sell cement pavers that are about one square foot for close to a dollar.
You could put them around the entire edge of the coop.

Also...
I am pretty sure that just by eating DE it would not keep external bugs away and some external bugs are not really visible by the naked eye.