Rhode Island Red

[LI Tom]

[/IMG]what is wrong with my chicken anyone know have others and there fine ???

 

[sourland]

Am I safe in assuming that you have a rooster? If so she is his favorite and is being overmated.

 

[LI Tom]

No rooster just for laying hens Rhode Island and New Hampshire a buff and astrolorp

 

[ramsburgchicken]

  Am I safe in assuming that you have a rooster?  If so she is his favorite and is being overmated.

I can absolutely see why sourland believed this was a rooster, as that was my thought also. As feathers missing from the back of the head (where rooster grabs hen with beak) and saddle area (where rooster is seated on the hen) all point to one culprit. The first thing I would do would be to make sure all the hens, really are hens. Just sit and observe from the time they get off the roost, through the day, up to roosting time, as much as you possibly can. As observation may lead you to find a hen who is a feather picker in your bunch. I would also check her after she's gone to roost for mites/lice.

 

[LI Tom]

I've checked them and I also made up a solution of permectrin and sprayed her and nothing has changed

 

[ramsburgchicken]

I've checked them and I also made up a solution of permectrin and sprayed her and nothing has changed

We use blukote. Nothing is immediate for feather regrowth. It took about a month or two for one of our hens to regrow missing feathers on bald skin following a dog attack. Blukote also protects the injury to keep others from pecking that area. I would definitely pick this up incase you have a feather picker in the bunch.