Is this normal for molting? Bloody feathers

[Fuhrwick]

My easter egger seems to be molting, but I noticed the new tail feathers coming in seem to be bloody. Is this normal looking? I’ll post photos below. I did notice one of our barred rocks give her a peck a few days ago, so I separated her overnight and pulled the bloody feathers as I thought they were just broken. Then I put peck-no-more cover up lotion on it and put her back in wirh the flock. I haven’t seen any of the hens peck her since, but I’ve noticed a few feathers being bloody again. There are no other wounds. I did the same thing by pulling them and putting her back in. I feel badly because I think this hurts her, but I don’t know what else to do? Is it normal for them to look like this growing in or is she being pecked?

 

[MysteryChicken]

She has to be breaking the pin feathers on something, or you may have a sneaky feather picker. Molting is normal, but not bloody pin feathers. The only way they'll bleed is if damage happens.

 

[ChickNanny13]

2x @MysteryChicken ... I wouldn't pull out the feathers, must hurt. My choice would be to clean with antiseptic and spray with Blu Note to cover the red. IF she's the only only getting picked on, you need to find the offender. In the mean time you could put her in a big wire cage with food & water, put the cage in the coop with the flock. Keeps her part of the flock and protected. Maybe you'll spot the picker

 

[aart]

Plucking a broken pin feather that won't stop bleeding is absolutely the right thing to do.
How to keep more from getting broken is a toughy.
Isolating her, or the pecker, should help.
Solving the pecking problem will take some investigating of diet and size of coop and run.

 

[MysteryChicken]

2x @MysteryChicken ... I wouldn't pull out the feathers, must hurt. My choice would be to clean with antiseptic and spray with Blu Note to cover the red. IF she's the only only getting picked on, you need to find the offender. In the mean time you could put her in a big wire cage with food & water, put the cage in the coop with the flock. Keeps her part of the flock and protected. Maybe you'll spot the picker

Nice that you agree on a sneaky feather picker.

 

[Fuhrwick]

I don’t have a very big run/coop and only have 7 chickens which makes separating within the run difficult. How long should she be separated for? Until all her new feathers come in? I never noticed her getting picked on before, it’s strange that it would be happening now I hope once her new feathers are in it stops. I feel bad for the poor girl.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I don’t have a very big run/coop and only have 7 chickens which makes separating within the run difficult. How long should she be separated for? Until all her new feathers come in? I never noticed her getting picked on before, it’s strange that it would be happening now I hope once her new feathers are in it stops. I feel bad for the poor girl.

Do you have a large doggy crate you can put her in?

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I don’t have a very big run/coop and only have 7 chickens which makes separating within the run difficult. How long should she be separated for? Until all her new feathers come in? I never noticed her getting picked on before, it’s strange that it would be happening now I hope once her new feathers are in it stops. I feel bad for the poor girl.

One of our hens, Zipper, had a hard molt this past summer. At first it went well, but at some point, several hens became interested in pecking at those funny new pin feathers. I had to watch for awhile to see the behavior, but it was obvious in the bloody feathers as they are fragile and bleed easily. In Zippers case, I sprayed a small amount of Blue Kote (Controversial and I should switch) on the area and watched to see if the feathers would keep dripping blood. They stopped so I didn’t have to pull them. I did need to keep Zipper in a separate cage in our run. After a week, new feathers were hiding the pin feathers, so I let her out. Within a few hours, hens were picking again, so back into the cage she went. After another week, she was able to rejoin the flock.

 

[Fuhrwick]

I do have a large dog crate I could put her in. Should I let her go into the coop with them at night? Or is it okay for her to sleep out in the crate? She is my most skittish and hard to catch except after dark.

 

[aart]

I don’t have a very big run/coop and only have 7 chickens which makes separating within the run difficult. How long should she be separated for? Until all her new feathers come in? I never noticed her getting picked on before, it’s strange that it would be happening now I hope once her new feathers are in it stops. I feel bad for the poor girl.

Hard to say how long, most things like this are a play it by eye. Separating a bullied bird can sometimes help them gain some confidence.
How big is your coop and run?
Dimensions and pics would help here.

I do have a large dog crate I could put her in. Should I let her go into the coop with them at night? Or is it okay for her to sleep out in the crate? She is my most skittish and hard to catch except after dark.

Give it a try.....just to give her a break during the day, then roost with others at night.

Oh, and......
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, (laptop version shown), then it's always there!