Inflamed Back End of Hen

[RuthDeBruyn]

I just noticed that my "Red" hen has lost all of the feathers on her anal area and it is swollen and red. The bulgy part looks like an oversized red golf ball with no hair on it. Any ideas?

 

[CMV]

Have you ever seen a naked chicken butt before? They look just as you are describing- bright red and the size of a baseball cut in half. They are not pretty under all that fluff. And chicken skin exposed to the elements gets bright red like that. That is normal.

The question is why your girl has a naked butt. You may want to do some flock observation because you may have some feather picking going on by other birds.

 

[RuthDeBruyn]

Awesome - so glad to hear that is normal is a normal looking butt. Our two other chics are about 6 mths old - is there any other reason they may be picking at her besides she may have food stuck on her (I gave her a warm bath today to clean her up)? Thanks for your help.

 

[CMV]

Feather picking often starts as a nutritional deficiency (lack of protein), but rapidly turns into a learned, undesirable behavior. You can add some extra protein sources such as BOSS to their diet. You can also make sure they have enough space and some diversions to keep them busy. Hanging vegetables/fruits (squashes, cabbages, cukes, chunks of melon) in the run where they have to work to get to them is a favorite activity.

I hope this helps. Good luck.