How to get rid of chicken's with red skin.

[mto64c]

I want to know if there is anything to get rid of the redness on my chicken's skin and regrow their feathers. After our rooster pecked their feathers off(back area) about 6 months ago. Their skin is still red and lack of feathers.

 

[Eliza]

I don't know either.

One of my hens needed to have her messy, nasty vent feathers clipped away, and some of the feathers had been plucked by her nasty neighbors. That was last fall, and the feathers are still missing, and the skin is still red. It will just take time for the feathers to come back.

 

[mto64c]

Ouch.

I know I just think 6 months is a little to long.

 

[ruth]

Is the rooster still around? Missing feathers on back or a totally bare back are a result of mating, not feather picking. The roo climbs on top of the hen's back and his claws rip out the feathers. If the roo is still around, the feathers don't have a chance to grow back. You can buy "chicken saddles" - a sort of cloth apron that goes over the hen's back to help prevent her skin from getting ripped open. Some of my hens wear them but I've found they delay feather growth. The fastest way I've found for the feathers to grow back is to separate the hen, where no roo has access to her, and the feathers start to grow back almost immediately.

For best results, put saddles on the hens BEFORE they lose their feathers.

 

[mto64c]

No we toke him out along time ago. he was actually doing more then just mating with them. He's a very aggressive rooster.

 

[ahclem]

We've got two hens with the same problem and they've never been around a rooster. We think it's the other hens working out the pecking order, even though these two are near the top! It's also possible that they're doing it to themselves.

I just talked to our vet today and mentioned this. She suggested pine tar but it's really toxic stuff so we're not going to try it. Some people have had luck with Hot Pick (not us, as yet) and I've heard that Vick's Vaporub might work. We're also trying Bag Balm - won't stop the pecking but just to sooth the area until we can figure something else out.

Interesting side thing: We've noticed that the bald area gets really red when the hens are excited, like when we show up with food or to let them out for the day. Shortly after, the redness starts to go away - not fully, but noticeably!

Another interesting suggestion to combat the possibility that the affected hens are doing it to themselves: Get a small piece of that foam pipe insulation and make a collar. It doesn't stop them from eating or drinking but it does keep them from turning around to worry the affected area.

If it is the others doing the pecking you'll probably have to think about isolating the affected birds, at least until their feathers grow back. We had another couple that were picked until they were bleeding (leads to cannibalism!). We kept them crated in the house for about a month and then in a separate enclosure in the coop. Now their feathers are all grown back and nobody bothers them any more.

 

[ruth]

When hens go after one another it is usually the vent area and not the back they are picking feathers from and yes, it can and will lead to cannibalism because as soon as they see red they become a shark feeding frenzy and will eat the other one to death.

If a hen is picking her own feathers you might want to examine her closely for lice or mites.

If it's damage left from the roo, her feathers will grow back eventually but may take time. With temps as hot as they are now, they don't need the feathers so their body says "wait".

 

[obe10]

pics would help

 

[Year of the Rooster]

Those feathers may never grow back. I have a barred rock that is bald on the back of her head. Feathers have been plucked clean along with the follicles and the skin is bright red like the comb. I don't think there is much you could do. You could try a skin moisturizer and see if that helps.

 

[cinders0220]

Has anyone tried pick no more at tractor supply?