Missing feathers above tail

[JennyJ2000]

Hi all,

Could you please help out a worried chicken mom?! I have two, two-year old, cream legbar hens (sisters). They've don't have anti-social temperaments, have been laying eggs like crazy, seem healthy in every other way but this: I noticed today that one of my girls is featherless and raw above the tail area, as shown in the picture.

I'm aware that chickens molt and that they peck at each other, but I've never seen anything like this and I'm worried she might have an illness that may get much worse.

What are we looking at here and what can I do about it please?

Thanks!

 

[MochaDuck]

Do you have rooster(s)? My roosters will tear out the feathers right there of our bantam hen when they try to mate with her.

 

[Peppercorngal]

Do you have a rooster? Many of my hens are missing their feathers in that area and it's fairly common. When the rooster mounts the hen he grabs with his talons and sometimes pulls out the feathers. You can get/or make what they call a hen saddle that will cover and protect this area. If they are pecking each other you can also apply a treatment called BlueKote that will keep them from pecking most of the time (because of the color). Click on the photos for a closer view. Good Luck!