Need Help Identifying Feather Loss & Skin Issue

[jccoops]

Hello everyone,

We’re new here and relatively new to raising chickens. Our hens are about 7-8 months old and all laying. At first, we suspected bullying, but now we’re not so sure. This particular hen is rather passive and tends to stay in the coop away from the others. However, we’ve also noticed feather loss on other chickens, particularly on their legs and underbellies. We have not been able to see any mites or identify any eggs that might be present.

This picture shows an area right above her tail. I noticed some fresh blood, and this patch has been present for a couple of weeks. We’d really appreciate any advice on what this might be and how to properly treat it.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[CCsGarden]

Hello everyone,

We’re new here and relatively new to raising chickens. Our hens are about 7-8 months old and all laying. At first, we suspected bullying, but now we’re not so sure. This particular hen is rather passive and tends to stay in the coop away from the others. However, we’ve also noticed feather loss on other chickens, particularly on their legs and underbellies. We have not been able to see any mites or identify any eggs that might be present.

This picture shows an area right above her tail. I noticed some fresh blood, and this patch has been present for a couple of weeks. We’d really appreciate any advice on what this might be and how to properly treat it.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Do you have a rooster? To me that seems like the rooster doing that. Make the hens some saddles ( I can post you link if needed) .
If the hens have feather losses on the under side, they could be pulling them out while laying eggs which means some might go broody.

 

[jccoops]

Do you have a rooster? To me that seems like the rooster doing that. Make the hens some saddles ( I can post you link if needed) .
If the hens have feather losses on the under side, they could be pulling them out while laying eggs which means some might go broody.

We do not have any roosters. We thought the same about broodiness maybe with the underside loss of feathers. Our Brahma has a lot of feathers missing from her upper legs (maybe because she is taller/easier to pick at her legs?). However this girl (who was the last to lay) is smaller than the rest. She isn't getting much water either because she avoids the run! So sad!

 

[CCsGarden]

We do not have any roosters. We thought the same about broodiness maybe with the underside loss of feathers. Our Brahma has a lot of feathers missing from her upper legs (maybe because she is taller/easier to pick at her legs?). However this girl (who was the last to lay) is smaller than the rest. She isn't getting much water either because she avoids the run! So sad!

Bring that hen inside for a little while so she can eat and get hydrated again. If not she may die soon. Dog crate works great if you have one! Hopefully she recover soon!
Do they have enough space? How large is the coop/run?

 

[jccoops]

Bring that hen inside for a little while so she can eat and get hydrated again. If not she may die soon. Dog crate works great if you have one! Hopefully she recover soon!
Do they have enough space? How large is the coop/run?

Thank you! We have a 4x4 and 4x8 run. We are going to add some extra run space as well, because I think they are probably too bored on days they can't get out as much. What kind of saddle do you recommend?

 

[CCsGarden]

Thank you! We have a 4x4 and 4x8 run. We are going to add some extra run space as well, because I think they are probably too bored on days they can't get out as much. What kind of saddle do you recommend?

How many chickens do you have in that pen? If you let them free range on days that is good!
Here is a thread I and a friend posted in on how to make the saddles. hope this helps!

It sounds like a pecking issues though! If they want there "own" space they will peck until one is beat up

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hello everyone,

We’re new here and relatively new to raising chickens. Our hens are about 7-8 months old and all laying. At first, we suspected bullying, but now we’re not so sure. This particular hen is rather passive and tends to stay in the coop away from the others. However, we’ve also noticed feather loss on other chickens, particularly on their legs and underbellies. We have not been able to see any mites or identify any eggs that might be present.

This picture shows an area right above her tail. I noticed some fresh blood, and this patch has been present for a couple of weeks. We’d really appreciate any advice on what this might be and how to properly treat it.

Thanks in advance for your help!

We do not have any roosters. We thought the same about broodiness maybe with the underside loss of feathers. Our Brahma has a lot of feathers missing from her upper legs (maybe because she is taller/easier to pick at her legs?). However this girl (who was the last to lay) is smaller than the rest. She isn't getting much water either because she avoids the run! So sad!

Thank you! We have a 4x4 and 4x8 run. We are going to add some extra run space as well, because I think they are probably too bored on days they can't get out as much. What kind of saddle do you recommend?

She's suffering from picking and bruising.

How many hens do you have in this space?

If she's not able to get to food/water, add more feed/water stations, give them more room or reduce the population.

While a saddle may help the skin underneath heal, if she's being this severely bullied by hens, she's still not going to get to food/water.

 

[jccoops]

How many chickens do you have in that pen? If you let them free range on days that is good!
Here is a thread I and a friend posted in on how to make the saddles. hope this helps!

It sounds like a pecking issues though! If they want there "own" space they will peck until one is beat up

Thank you for your advice! We have 6 hens.

 

[jccoops]

She's suffering from picking and bruising.

How many hens do you have in this space?

If she's not able to get to food/water, add more feed/water stations, give them more room or reduce the population.

While a saddle may help the skin underneath heal, if she's being this severely bullied by hens, she's still not going to get to food/water.

We have 6 hens. We are going to expand the run space, since the don't get to free range every day and seem to be struggling with boredom. Thank you for the tips!

 

[CCsGarden]

We have 6 hens. We are going to expand the run space, since the don't get to free range every day and seem to be struggling with boredom. Thank you for the tips!

Yes! They need more space! Would be awesome if you could build them a bigger area to be in