Missing feathers at base of back and now open wound?

[ahodges]

Hi there. Out of my small flock of 5, I noticed yesterday that 2 are missing feathers at the base of their back, above where the tail starts. I checked them all for lice/mites and didn’t see any. Made sure they had plenty of dust bath and didn’t think much more about it. Today one of the girls has an open wound in that area. I’ve attached photos below. Any thoughts as to what is causing this or what I should do? There are no roosters in this group and the 2 affected are eating, drinking, and laying fine.

Thank you in advance for any help!

 

[Yardmom]

Are any of the hens mounting (to show dominance)?

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Looks like a plucking issue. Put saddles on the ones with feathers missing on their backs and Pinless Peepers on all of the hens.

I would also recommend watching to see if there's a hen acting like a rooster, because that happens too. If it is the case, she'll probably need some nail trimming done. Either way, still put saddles on them to prevent further injuries.

As far as the open wound, unless it's not pictured, it doesn't look too bad. Besides putting a saddle on, I wouldn't be too worried, but you can spray a little bit of hydrogen peroxide on it to clean it. Then keep her back covered.

Do you know if you have any bullies in the flock? Typically when it comes to feather plucking, if you have on| plucker, they're all plucking.

 

[ahodges]

Are any of the hens mounting (to show dominance)?

I’ve tried to observe them more today and I haven’t noticed any mounting. I did notice one of the other hens pecking at the areas as they were all dust bathing. Not really in an aggressive way, in sort of a curious way. So I’m not sure if that’s why the sore opened up on the one?

 

[Windy Wings]

You can also buy No Peck from your local feed store. They should have it. It's a spray made of bitter things that don't taste good. Pinless Peepers will also help.
How big is your run, and do you have anything in there to entertain them? I've had the same problems with my flock, and it usually gets better if we put things in their run to entertain them or let them free range. The more space, the better. They will peck out of boredom.

 

[ahodges]

Looks like a plucking issue. Put saddles on the ones with feathers missing on their backs and Pinless Peepers on all of the hens.

I would also recommend watching to see if there's a hen acting like a rooster, because that happens too. If it is the case, she'll probably need some nail trimming done. Either way, still put saddles on them to prevent further injuries.

As far as the open wound, unless it's not pictured, it doesn't look too bad. Besides putting a saddle on, I wouldn't be too worried, but you can spray a little bit of hydrogen peroxide on it to clean it. Then keep her back covered.

Do you know if you have any bullies in the flock? Typically when it comes to feather plucking, if you have on| plucker, they're all plucking.

I haven’t been able to watch them very closely lately so I will try to observe them some more this weekend and see if anyone is being a bully. Thank you for the suggestions of the saddles and peepers!

I just picked up some “Banixx for Chixx” pecking sore spray at tractor supply and will clean and apply that. I haven’t used it before but figured it was worth a try.

 

[ahodges]

You can also buy No Peck from your local feed store. They should have it. It's a spray made of bitter things that don't taste good. Pinless Peepers will also help.
How big is your run, and do you have anything in there to entertain them? I've had the same problems with my flock, and it usually gets better if we put things in their run to entertain them or let them free range. The more space, the better. They will peck out of boredom.

Thank you for your response! I went to tractor supply to see what they had and picked up “Banixx for Chixx” pecking sore spray, so fingers crossed that helps. I hadn’t heard of the pinless peepers until another person suggested it - I’ll definitely look into those. The run is 12’ x 12’. What sort of things do you like to use for entertainment? I’ll let them out more so they can have some more space.

 

[Windy Wings]

Thank you for your response! I went to tractor supply to see what they had and picked up “Banixx for Chixx” pecking sore spray, so fingers crossed that helps. I hadn’t heard of the pinless peepers until another person suggested it - I’ll definitely look into those. The run is 12’ x 12’. What sort of things do you like to use for entertainment? I’ll let them out more so they can have some more space.

We give them random ends off of vegetables (just make sure they're edible for chickens ), we buy these blocks of seeds called "flock blocks" (also from local feed stores). They like pecking at those. Toss plants and dirt in there for them to scratch and peck at. Mostly though, we just let them out. Your run is fairly big, especially since you only have 5. Hopefully with time, pecking spray, and entertainment, your pecking problem will be solved.
Good luck!

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Sometimes they do this because they are looking for protein. What feed are they on?

 

[ahodges]

Sometimes they do this because they are looking for protein. What feed are they on?

Oh that’s interesting! They have unlimited 16% protein layer pellet and I also give kitchen scraps