Picked on or molting?

[starchicky]

In the picture you can see her neck feathers are white at the tips, they look like they have been picked at by another chicken. I've been watching it to see if it was just molting but it has not changed over a few weeks now, plus I don't see molting elsewhere on her.....any ideas? She is low on the pecking order.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Do you have a cock bird? Seems to be right at the spot they sometime grab the neck when mounting.

 

[starchicky]

I do have a young one. I was thinking he was just chasing the one buff Orpington, but maybe he's getting at this one early in the morning. I think that must be it now that you point it out. Thanks!

 

[tcstoehr]

I am experiencing the same thing. My Speckled Sussex was losing alot of neck feathers and I didn't know why. Well, then she started sleeping in a nest box instead of the usual place on the roosting bar with the others. My suspicion is that her neck was getting pecked on at roosting time, and she didn't like it and decided to roost elsewhere. Now those feathers have grown back but my Buff Orpington has now lost a bunch of neck feathers. But she is the top of the pecking order and it's hard to imagine her putting up with any such abuse. I think the only way to figure it out is a coop cam.

 

[starchicky]

I do have a chicken tractor I could separate out into. Just not sure which bird to separate out. Or maybe it's time to butcher the cockerel :/ OR make the hubby put out a coop cam, lol

 

[bobbi-j]

Just remember - if you separate a bird, you will have to reintegrate it and there will be squabbles to reestablish the pecking order. Is she bleeding? Does she have injuries? If not, I'd let her be. That's just my opinion.

 

[donrae]

I agree with leaving her in the flock and just keeping an eye on things. We have a lot of posts here from folks trying to get a bird back into the flock after separating them for minor issues, and it's just so much easier to leave them be unless there's true injury. The feathers look like thy're growing back--no bald spots or bleeding, she's otherwise in very nice condition, good smooth glossy feathers, bright eyes, clean legs. I think isolating her will bring on more problems, especially for a low ranked hen being tossed back into the flock.