My poor naked tailed little Roo

[Lake2day]

First time chicken owner here and my chicks are all grown up now, approaching 6 months fast. Now, I know chickens moult, but is it normal for a 5&1/2 month old cockerel to loose all of his tail feathers in one night? I also had 2 hens out the morning I discovered Arlo’s little naked butt..... No damage to the coup that would indicate something got in....Just the 2 hens out and a naked tail for poor Arlo. First pic is him a few days before.

 

[LizzzyJo]

I’m one night? No that doesn’t look like normal molting to me. Especially at his age. Are the hens picking on him?

 

[Lake2day]

I’m one night? No that doesn’t look like normal molting to me. Especially at his age. Are the hens picking on him?

Not that I have noticed at all. Actually the 2 hens that were out were Becky who is blind in one eye and pecked by Arlo quite often, and Anne who is a real piece of work. She’s bold and generally in a horrible mood. She’s pushy toward me but Arlo seems to have all of his ladies very well in check. His other tail feathers weren’t loose, no blood. Arlo has been a real jerk lately since he’s reaching maturity. Could he have tried to cover a hen before she was willing and they retaliated?

 

[sourland]

My gut says that Arlo is a lucky guy. That appears more that a predator grabbed him by the butt rather than pecking damage.

 

[Lake2day]

My gut says that Arlo is a lucky guy. That appears more that a predator grabbed him by the butt rather than pecking damage.

That was a concern of mine too.... You can see the coup a bit in the background.. It’s made of sawmill slats and there are some gaps that are probably too wide. Maybe his tail feathers were poking out....?

 

[LizzzyJo]

I agree. If he’s not being fiercely picked on then someone took a swipe at him.

 

[LizzzyJo]

Raccoon hands are quite nimble!

 

[Lake2day]

The only thing is that I found all of the missing feathers inside the coup under the roost ‍

 

[red horse ranch]

That is not normal and he shouldn't lose the tail feathers all at once. A chicken will do a final chick molt at around 5 months to get the last of his adult feathers. But you usually don't notice since it happens gradually. It could be that one or both of the hens picked his feathers off. But it looks more likely that someone or something grabbed him by the tail and the feathers pulled lose while he was trying to escape.
Be sure to watch that the hens don't pick at the naked area and draw blood. You should probably keep some anti-pick lotion on the area until the feathers get some size again.

 

[LizzzyJo]

The only thing is that I found all of the missing feathers inside the coup under the roost ‍

Oh. Interesting. Is anyone more skittish today or fearful? How far between the feathers and a hole/slat? Can you post a pic of the crime scene? This is much more interesting than work at the moment...