Hens missing patch of feathers. ***PICTURE ADDED**

[BushHog936]

My grandmother's two 2-year old chickens both developed a bald patch on their necks about a month ago. About a third of their neck, all near the rear, is featherless to the skin, but otherwise they seem completely healthy. The bald patch has not spread to other parts of their body. Any ideas as to what it may be? I will try to post a picture soon.

 

[nhnanna]

Does she have a rooster? If she does it is probably caused from him mating the hens.

 

[Chicks R Friends NOT Food]

Quote:
That's what I was going to say.

 

[BushHog936]

Nope, no rooster. Just these two laying hens, which are locked up in a 8 x 5 run 50 perecnt of their time.

I am watching them for the two weeks she'll be gone, but I'm keeping them seperated from my own flock so they don't spread disease, etc.

 

[BushHog936]

Patch missing has been roughly the same size for a month. Both of her chickens look like this, but slightly different areas of the neck.


I am new to your website. Is there anywhere on your site where I can find what you all's abbreviations mean?

 

[Year of the Rooster]

A few possibilities:

1. They are just molting. It's a natural process of losing feathers.

2. They are plucking each other's feathers out. Some hens have a bad habit of plucking.

3. They may have mites.

4. They could be getting into a fight and ripping each others feathers out.


Those are just some ideas I thought of.

 

[BushHog936]

Thanks for your reply. I don't get to see them often, but I will have them for the next few weeks.

They're not in moult, and from what I see they don't fight much.

I thought about mites as well, but I personally have not seen the end result of heavy infestations before, so I don't know what it looks like. I did not inspect their living quarters for mites.

 

[Judy]

You'll find the mites around their vents, after dark, off the roost. You probably won't see them in their living quarters, though they will certainly be there if the chickens have an infestation.

The abbreviations get a lot easier when you get used to how they work. See this thread:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=206607

 

[BushHog936]

Thanks, I've looked the hens over for mites and didn't see any. I have no clue what is causing this.

And thanks for the link for all the abbreviations.

 

[threehorses]

Quote:
I'd also recommend checking for lice - particularly behind their neck and around their vents. Check also for the eggs as they might be off the birds. And lice which will be tan colored and hard to find. Doing it on a sheet usually is the key.

The two places you've mentioned are the two places where lice/mites most often hide. Is the skin at all broken there?