Missing tail feathers

[Pazza]

I have 4 new hens that are about 8-months old, 2 Plymouth Rock and 2 Easter Eggers. One of the Easter Eggers, Cheesburger (named by a kid to tempt the fates;-) has lost her tail feathers and has a bare butt. I am not sure what is going on. I noticed about 3 weeks ago that her main tail feathers were missing.

• One of the hens did have loose stools a few weeks ago, but I gave them yogurt on and off and all stools seem to be good
• We had a family of Cooper's Hawks starting to harass the girls about 3 weeks ago. I heard screaming but didn't see any physical proof of an attack, just freaked out
• She is #2 in the pecking order, so I don't think someone else is pecking her, and I haven't seen her feathers laying around
• I am pretty sure that a Cooper's hawk did a fly-by about 2 weeks ago and tried to bite her. Looking at her rear, to the left of the bare spot is a blue bruise the size of a dime (no broken skin) and missing feathers behind where she was snapped at. The tail feathers were already missing, but I didn't see the big bare butt
• The group lives in a 5x8 fenced coop with a little house in it. If they are not roaming free, they are in the fenced coop and an attached tractor that is 4x8. They probably roam 50% of the time.
• She does not appear to have any puss on her butt or any dust color on her vent
• She does have 2 feathers in other places that look to be backward or twisted the wrong way.
• Other than an ugly butt, she appears to be healthy
• The flock sleeps on top of the house. We live in SoCal and the inside of the house doesn't fit them all now that they are grown (building a new coop cuz the Amazon one sucked!)

Pic 1 was about 2 weeks ago with the bare butt. The hawk bruise is right where she is preening

Pic 2 & 3 was yesterday, trying to get a close-up. Holding her, finding the bare spot and taking pics is impossible. It seems that the spots are only where the feathers are missing.

Thanks,
Michelle

 

[FluffyButtBabies]

Comb through her feathers. Is there any sign of mites? To me, it looks more like an injury though, because of the wounds/ holes where the tail feathers were yanked out. I would separate her to see if they start growing back, and to keep others from pulling them out again. Observe your flock. Is it another chicken hurting her? If not, it might've been an unseen predator (maybe raccoon).