Hen with bare tail are 3+ months

jermajay

Chirping
May 20, 2021
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I got two Australorps late November/early December last year because they were being bullied in their original flock. One hen had an entirely bare tail/back (and the skin is red, although this might be because of the sun - Aussie heat). I thought this was because she was being bullied but now I'm not sure if it's a health issue or if she's plucking. She's in with Silkies and while she's quite shy, she's definitely the boss of them, so she's not getting bullied. She has been laying every day since we got her and her eggs are healthy afaik, they have thick shells at least. She's on Golden Yolk layer pellets and gets to free range every day, and I've also been giving them extra mealworms because I heard that they might eat their feathers if they're protein deficient.

My main question is if there are any health or diet issues that would cause feathers falling out in a specific spot like this. All of her other feathers look healthy and glossy, and she hasn't shown any signs of illness other than this. I have also seen some feathers grow back - not the white pins, but the fluffy grey-ish feathers that are under their glossy feathers. Not sure what they're called, sorry. I haven't noticed whether they're the same feathers or if she's plucking them and they're regrowing.

If she is plucking, what are my options? Would those chicken saddles stop her from plucking? What normally causes it - lack of enrichment/stress/etc? She's got dust baths and perches, and she makes frequent use of both.

Also I should mention that my roos do mate with her, but have never caused feather loss in any of my other chickens, so I doubt it's due to them.
 
How many roosters? How many total hens? How much space do they all have when they are not let out? What is in the space? Have you checked her skin over closely for external parasites?
If her feathers were already compromised when you got her and the boys are at her, that is not going to help the situation. I would create a new large penned area for her so they can't get to her.
What is the protein content of the feed you are giving her? I am not familiar with that brand.
I would feed a complete ration that is 18-20% protein and offer her a sardine a day as a treat. She will likely molt this fall and should recover but if your roosters are after her a lot, she may get damaged again.
 
I got two Australorps late November/early December last year because they were being bullied in their original flock. One hen had an entirely bare tail/back (and the skin is red, although this might be because of the sun - Aussie heat). I thought this was because she was being bullied but now I'm not sure if it's a health issue or if she's plucking.

My main question is if there are any health or diet issues that would cause feathers falling out in a specific spot like this. All of her other feathers look healthy and glossy, and she hasn't shown any signs of illness other than this. I have also seen some feathers grow back - not the white pins
Please provide some photos.

To clarify, when you got them, they were bare backed or they had feather loss right?
Is the feather loss getting worse?

If they were bare backed when you got them and the feathers were broken and the feather shaft is still intact in the skin, they will not be replaced until the hen(s) molt.
Roosters can also cause damage (more damage?), so you may be seeing more loss due to mating.

Do you see her plucking her own feathers out or is she preening?
A chicken saddle can help protect feathers that exist and bare skin during mating. If she's truly picking at herself, then it's best to investigate to see if lice or mites are an issue.
Even with a saddle, broken feathers won't regrow until she molts, but they do offer some protection, just watch for overheating during the hottest part of the year.
 
How many roosters? How many total hens? How much space do they all have when they are not let out? What is in the space? Have you checked her skin over closely for external parasites?
If her feathers were already compromised when you got her and the boys are at her, that is not going to help the situation. I would create a new large penned area for her so they can't get to her.
What is the protein content of the feed you are giving her? I am not familiar with that brand.
I would feed a complete ration that is 18-20% protein and offer her a sardine a day as a treat. She will likely molt this fall and should recover but if your roosters are after her a lot, she may get damaged again.
So I've made a few changes to their living arrangements so I'll just say all of the ways they were kept.

First 3 weeks we had them they were kept on their own in an adjacent pen to my silkies. I don't know how big it is but I would guesstimate around 5x3 metres? They had no free ranging time
After that until January they were with my silkies - there were 3 (technically 4 but one was young enough I thought he was a hen) roos and 12 hens, including them. Again just guessing but I would say their pen was about 6x6 metres, and the australorps were always free ranging then - they only came back when I came over with treats.
After January 3 of my hens went broody and were moved, and I moved all three adult roosters, so there's just the young one now.

The protein content is 15%.

Do fall moults happen in Australia?

I don't think the roos were after her much at all - her eggs are not fertilised, and I only ever see one rooster with them, and he was with the one with full feathers - I'm just guessing she was mated too but have not actually seen it.

Are meat bird finished pellets okay if she's laying? That's the only one I can find with 20% protein. I also don't know if I've ever seen sardines, so will fish fillets or fish oil be ok?

Thanks for all the help!
 
Please provide some photos.

To clarify, when you got them, they were bare backed or they had feather loss right?
Is the feather loss getting worse?

If they were bare backed when you got them and the feathers were broken and the feather shaft is still intact in the skin, they will not be replaced until the hen(s) molt.
Roosters can also cause damage (more damage?), so you may be seeing more loss due to mating.

Do you see her plucking her own feathers out or is she preening?
A chicken saddle can help protect feathers that exist and bare skin during mating. If she's truly picking at herself, then it's best to investigate to see if lice or mites are an issue.
Even with a saddle, broken feathers won't regrow until she molts, but they do offer some protection, just watch for overheating during the hottest part of the year.
When I got them one had lost the glossy feathers but still had a full covering of downy feathers. This one was completely bare backed. The feather loss is not getting worse.

I don't think the feather shaft was still in the skin - that's the white pokey stuff, right? It was entirely smooth, like someone had plucked her to eat.

I have not seen her plucking or preening. She dust bathes but just fluffs herself.

I'll check for mites tonight with a torch, but I couldn't see any this morning.

Going out to get phots now.

It is going to be mid 30s for the next few weeks so I might hold off on the saddle.
 
Here are the photos - I also checked for mites and lice but didn't see any, but I'll get my mum to double check as well because I wasn't sure how to see on the dark feathers. She has some bald bits on her head that I didn't notice before, so I think that means she's not plucking. We'll be moving her and the other australorp tomorrow so that young roo won't be able to do anything. We have two Hamburg roosters free ranging, should I keep the australorps locked up in case they come in contact? They have their own flock of hens but I'm not sure if we should risk it.

Also, I found some more feeds - I didn't think the naturals would have more protein. Which of these would be best? I misred, the 20% one is for chicks, so I don't know if that will work. (If it does I already have chickie crumble I can give them)

1: Grains & Greens
Protein 18.5%, Calcium 4%
INGREDIENTS SELECTED FROM THE FOLLOWING: Whole & Cracked Cereal grains, Legumes, Vegetable Protein Meals, Sunflower Seeds, Vegetable Fats and Oils, Lucerne, Shell Grit (Fine and Coarse Calcium), Mono-Di Calcium Phosphate, Salt, Ridley Vitamin and Mineral Premix, Essential Amino Acids and Enzymes.

2. Meat Poultry Finisher
Protein 18.5%, Calcium .9%
INGREDIENTS SELECTED FROM THE FOLLOWING: Cereal grains and their By-products, Legumes and their By-products, Vegetable Protein Meats, Fats and Oils, Mono-Di Calcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Essential Amino Acids and Enzymes, Ridley Vitamin and Mineral Premix.

3. Mixed Flock
Protein 22%, Calcium 3.8%
INGREDIENTS SELECTED FROM THE FOLLOWING: Cereal grains and their By-products, Legumes and their By-products, Vegetable Protein Meals, Vegetable Fats and Oils, Shell Grit (fine and coarse calcium),Ridley Vitamin and Mineral Pre-mix, Essential Amino Acids and Enzymes.
*This one said it's not intended for laying birds, so I'm not sure if there's something in it not suitable.

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So I've made a few changes to their living arrangements so I'll just say all of the ways they were kept.

First 3 weeks we had them they were kept on their own in an adjacent pen to my silkies. I don't know how big it is but I would guesstimate around 5x3 metres? They had no free ranging time
After that until January they were with my silkies - there were 3 (technically 4 but one was young enough I thought he was a hen) roos and 12 hens, including them. Again just guessing but I would say their pen was about 6x6 metres, and the australorps were always free ranging then - they only came back when I came over with treats.
After January 3 of my hens went broody and were moved, and I moved all three adult roosters, so there's just the young one now.

The protein content is 15%.

Do fall moults happen in Australia?

I don't think the roos were after her much at all - her eggs are not fertilised, and I only ever see one rooster with them, and he was with the one with full feathers - I'm just guessing she was mated too but have not actually seen it.

Are meat bird finished pellets okay if she's laying? That's the only one I can find with 20% protein. I also don't know if I've ever seen sardines, so will fish fillets or fish oil be ok?

Thanks for all the help!
The pictures are showing mating stress and her feather quality is poor. The feather shafts are broken. I don't see any signs of pin feathers coming in yet. Until she finishes molting, I would keep all the boys away from her.

I would feed the meat poultry finisher as that would be appropriate for a mixed flock and put out oyster shell in a separate container for the layers. This type of feeding can be done year round from hatch to death. You can feed any type of fish or other good quality meat you want for a treat along with fresh greens.

I would permanently lock up all but the flock leader rooster into a bachelor pad or re-home the excess boys. Too many boys can cause a lot of stress to the hens.

Birds molt in autumn regardless of the hemisphere. You are coming into molting season and stress can trigger an early molt.
 
She will regrow the feathers once she molts, which will likely be in the fall. Follicles are indeed intact in the skin, they are just worn smooth.
The bare patch on her head is indicative to mating. Roosters hold on to feathers with their beak and ultimately some get pulled out over time.
Skin looks ok, I don't see any abrasions.

I would go with the finisher or mixed flock feed, but feed is not going to make the feathers come back in, you'll have to wait until she molts.
 

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