Loss of feathers on back of chicken

[Ali1983]

Hi, over the past few weeks one of my three hens appears to have enlarged the area between its legs towards the back.
The other two hens have a much smaller 'sack' with feathers all over.

This one has very little feathers and a very enlarged sack which causes it to defecate on itself. I cleaned her up today and noticed some mites and white sacks on the few feather stalks left.

She doesn't seem to be in any pain and lays like normal. It also has not affected the other two hens.

Any ideas on the problem and how I can treat it please?

 

[Chick Charm]

Sorry about your chicken.

Maybe some research on peritonitis will help you. It looks like that to me and about 4 % of chickens get peritonitis.

Wish the best for ya.

 

[my sunwolf]

Looks like she's mostly irritated from bugs and is pulling her own feathers out. She may just be less able to clean herself than the other hens for one reason or another. I would dust her and the whole flock with pyrethrin to kill the bugs and see if she can clean herself up.

 

[Ali1983]

Thanks for the response.
I've cleaned out their coop and dusted them all with some red mite powder so fingers crossed that should kill the mites. (that said, I've seen a few YouTube clubs and the mites are very few and far between compared to some of the clips.)

I've also looked into the peritonitis and it looks like it could be that. Some of the images look familiar as do the eggs with calcium deposits although she doesn't walk with wide legs or any problems so could be early stages. Hopefully I can find a poultry vet and get it treated.

Thanks again.