Naked Patch on Back

[jennifer0224]

I don't think this is an "emergency", but was not sure where to post it.

I have 8 (friendly) hens, no roosters, and I noticed this morning my white leghorn has this perfect bare patch on her back. I don't believe this was here yesterday. She wouldn't let me catch her this morning for a more thorough inspection, but I can't see anything else wrong with her, and nothing wrong with any of my other hens. She has already molted, earlier in the season. Does this look like anything familiar to anyone? Not a great picture but it was the best I could get this morning.

Thanks so much.

 

[jennifer0224]

I should note, we do have a stubborn hawk that keeps landing on their fence, and we even found the hawk inside of the coop a couple of weeks ago, but I've never seen the hawk actually touch any of the birds.

 

[Abriana]

Are the hens picking on her? Is she molting? How old is she? I don’t think it’s a hawk

 

[Welshies]

Are the hens picking on her? Is she molting? How old is she? I don’t think it’s a hawk

If she already molted she wouldn't.
How big is your coop?
It may have been the hawk, although if it was, he sure didn't get her.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Looks like she is the victim of dominance mounting to me.
A dominant hen will mock breed a subordinate in order to reinforce her lead status.
It does not happen in all flocks but it does happen.
The leghorn is missing feathers from the back of her head as well. Classic signs of mating and in this case dominance mounting.

 

[jennifer0224]

I wonder about that... if there is a low girl on the totem pole it would be her. She is almost 2 years old. We do have 3 9-month old females who just started laying in the last couple of months, perhaps one of them is exhibiting dominance behaviors that I have not seen? The new ones are a brown leghorn, a black sexlink, and a dark brahma. My other 4 birds are about 3 years old and have never shown any signs of dominance.

The main coop is 4x8, with an additional 4x3 extension, so there is plenty of room, and they have a 30x15' run with additional garden access right now.

So in your opinion, it does not look like any kind of parasite right? That is what I always worry about, though my flock has always been very healthy.

 

[21hens-incharge]

It does not look like mite damage to me. I however am not an expert.

To check for mites or lice take a flashlight out with you after dark while they are roosting. Rub a white paper towel or tissue under the roost and look for red on it. Part the feathers of one or more birds near the vent and look for crawling bugs. Check under the wings too.
Mites are super tiny, nearly invisible really.
If you find any then post in the pests section. Lots of great folk will be willing to help.

 

[jennifer0224]

Thanks 21hens. Everyone else looks completely healthy, so I'll just keep an eye on things. Her behavior has not changed at all either so, perhaps I'll just give them all extra breathing room for the next couple weeks, my garden could use some chicken-tilling anyway. Will the feathers grow back quickly?

 

[21hens-incharge]

Sometimes they grow back fast.

With this kind of dominance behavior I doubt they will be allowed to at all.

Read up on hen saddles. They really help protect the bare skin.

I tend to remove any hens that do that sort of thing from my flock. They become chicken tacos or get cooked for the dogs.

I just cannot stand hens that tear up the others.

 

[Abriana]

Sometimes they grow back fast.

With this kind of dominance behavior I doubt they will be allowed to at all.

Read up on hen saddles. They really help protect the bare skin.

I tend to remove any hens that do that sort of thing from my flock. They become chicken tacos or get cooked for the dogs.

I just cannot stand hens that tear up the others.

You can make a hen saddle. Then you can choose material, put patterns on it, and get the fit just right. There are lots of free patterns online.