Should I be worried about my Bluebell chicken?

[ups5464]

Hi All

I've kept chickens for a couple of years without any problems. While cleaning out the coop etc yesterday I noticed the below on one of my bluebells. Haven't seen anything like this before. Looks uncomfortable for the chicken which is my main concern.

To those more experienced keepers, should i be worried and if so what you do think the cause might be?

Thanks in advance

Paul

I've kept

 

[CluckerFamily]

Do you have a rooster?

 

[ups5464]

Do you have a rooster?

No - 4 chickens and that's it no rooster

 

[Eggcessive]

It looks like she has been feather picked by others. Molting can also cause feather loss, but this looks like some broken off feathers. Are they over crowed? Do they get out to free range? What are you feeding them? They need a balanced feed with 16-20% protein minimum.

 

[ups5464]

It looks like she has been feather picked by others. Molting can also cause feather loss, but this looks like some broken off feathers. Are they over crowed? Do they get out to free range? What are you feeding them? They need a balanced feed with 16-20% protein minimum.

Thanks for the answer - They have a 20m by 20 m free range area and there are only four of them. I feed them with Layers Pellets with Verm X and some corn.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sometimes they can peck inside the coop. There it is best to have at least 4 square feet of room per chicken. Getting outside to roam can help. There are anti-peck ointments and BluKote spray can dye the skin blue to help prevent pecking. Pine tar is an old remedy to deter pecking, as well as Nustock cream, and they are found in the horse supplies in feed stores. Some have used sticky ointments as well. Increasing protein for awhile if others are eating the feathers may help.