deacons
Songster
My 2 year old RIR hen has mysterious feather loss on her back. It's not bald, but it is clearly a spot on her back/base of tail where her downy feathers are showing through. I don't have a rooster, but the spot on her back looks like what you'd see if a rooster was overmating her. They are supervised during free ranging, so I can't think of any way she has a secret beau on the side I grabbed her today to take a closer look, and the feathers are clearly pecked off, as you can see where they have been broken in that "v" pattern.
Here's the mysterious part: this is far and away the "head hen" of this flock (8 adult hens). I can't imagine any other chickens ever standing up to her, let alone jumping on her back repeatedly and being that aggressive. So, I can't understand what would be causing the feather loss. Is she doing this to herself? I never see this behavior, but of course, I'm not with them all the time.
I also thought about mites or lice. When I grabbed her today, I gave her another close look-over. I see no signs of pests near the shafts of her feathers or around her vent. She is also the only one with this strange feather loss pattern, so I figure if it was mites, they'd all be showing signs of discomfort? I've never (to my knowledge) had mites though, so not sure if I'd know the signs 100% outside of what I've read.
What else am I not thinking of that might be causing this? I'd say she's been like this for about 2 months now- it's not really getting better, but not realy getting worse. Throughout this time, I've been checking for signs of lice or mites, and as far as I can tell, she's clear. She lays and eats normally, and is quite active. Doesn't seem bothered by it in any way.
Here's the mysterious part: this is far and away the "head hen" of this flock (8 adult hens). I can't imagine any other chickens ever standing up to her, let alone jumping on her back repeatedly and being that aggressive. So, I can't understand what would be causing the feather loss. Is she doing this to herself? I never see this behavior, but of course, I'm not with them all the time.
I also thought about mites or lice. When I grabbed her today, I gave her another close look-over. I see no signs of pests near the shafts of her feathers or around her vent. She is also the only one with this strange feather loss pattern, so I figure if it was mites, they'd all be showing signs of discomfort? I've never (to my knowledge) had mites though, so not sure if I'd know the signs 100% outside of what I've read.
What else am I not thinking of that might be causing this? I'd say she's been like this for about 2 months now- it's not really getting better, but not realy getting worse. Throughout this time, I've been checking for signs of lice or mites, and as far as I can tell, she's clear. She lays and eats normally, and is quite active. Doesn't seem bothered by it in any way.
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