large bare patch on the small of the back

[jbeyer]

There are two Pekins that live in a canal near me. We noticed today that the male has a large bare patch under his wings in the small of his back. We don't think this is from bullying, as the missing feathers are all in a concentrated area, and we haven't seen much bullying. The area is larger than what is visible in the attached photos, I would say it might be roughly 3"x3". The skin underneath looks pink and fairly healthy. Other than the disturbing visual, he seems healthy otherwise.

From the photos attached, does anyone have ideas as to what the issue might be? Thanks so much in advance!

Jon

 

[sourland]

Just a guess, but it may be the result of an unsuccessful predator attack. As far as I can tell from the pictures, the skin appears to be healthy.

 

[minihorse927]

I would agree with the above post. Skin looks healthy to me.

 

[jbeyer]

Thank you to those who responded. I'm in a fairly rural area of NJ. Would a coyote be the most likely attacker?

 

[sourland]

Jon, coyote, fox, dog are all possibilities with a far outside chance of even a bobcat. I've never seen them in our area, but have seen them in the Sourlands.