Should I kill this bird?

[nevadagal]

I have a small flock of chickens and I have one Rhode Island White (one of 4) that I got this summer. They were with an aggressive Rooster (aptly named Woody). One of the hens was missing a lot of feathers on her backside with some wing feather damage and I figured Woody liked her best. Fast forward 5 months and she has not grown her feathers back. It's like some permanent condition. I am wondering if she is okay. The other morning after letting the hens out of their coop I noticed that she was bloody on her backside; I was thinking frostbite as it's been pretty cold (teens) and she doesn't have any feathers. I have moved her to a shed, a dog crate and a huge movers blanket for insulation at night. She seems sort of okay but I'm really concerned about this absence of feathers. Again, this is not like molting it's like a skin disease or ?????

Ideas anyone?

Thanks for your help,

The Nevada Gal Chicken Farmer!

Picture here (a bit blurry) ...

OOPS, I can't post a picture 'cause I'm new.

diysolarsolutions(dot)com/images/Miss-3-Feathers(dot)png

You can paste the link and just put . where dot goes or type it out - I really appreciate your help as I want to help her. For now I'm putting her in the shed and hoping she'll be okay.

 

[WooingWyandotte]

Well I can't figure out how to view the picture; but that's ok. So she hasn't grown any feathers in five months? Does she regularly eat and drink? Any odd behaviors with your flock? Can you see any pin feathers, or is it like he ripped the feather follicle out? How long was he with them? It is possible if he was a very eager roo, that he did rip the feather follicle out...

I don't know. You can post pics when you reach ten posts, so you could post a couple things here and there in the forums to get your post count up so you can put some pictures on here.
I noticed you just put the link of the pic, instead on forums you generally have to put:

The 'img' is short for 'image', it let's the processor thing know that your putting an image up, and the dash ( / ) on the second 'img' thing means 'the end' to the computer. Sorry if that made no sense.

 

[GreenGoddess]

Personally, that does not look like an over zealous roo problem... If you feel her breast, can you feel her keel bone? Does she feel thin/light even though she is eating well? if you look at the feathers she does have, do they look like something has been chewing on them (almost looks like the feathers got shredded in a fan blade) or do they look really healthy? Do you see any groups of "beads" on the shafts of her feather, particularly near her vent or under her wings?? Looks to me like she has mites/lice... There are several different ways to treat them.. Just do a search on her for "mites" or "Lice"..

Goddess

 

[seminolewind]

I would get her one of those chicken saddles, if not, maybe a piece of gauze and some duct tape, a few pieces run from side to side of the hen. It will eventually fall off. I think they grow their feathers back faster during a molt. If you're between molts, it will take her longer. Just keep slapping the tape on.

 

[dawg53]

I saw the photo of your hen and she has been constantly overmated by your rooster causing continuous feather loss. I agree with Seminolewind in that you should purchase a chicken saddle/apron for your hen, it'll protect her back and sides. Normally, it's recommended that there should be 10 hens per 1 rooster. I recommend that you cleanse her bloody backside with a 50/50 water and betadine mixture, dry it off well. Then put neosporin ointment on it to help it heal and prevent infection. Keep her seperated til she completely heals and provide her feed and water while she's seperated. I recommend that you increase her protein intake to help encourage feather regrowth. You can do this by providing her gamebird feed for her to eat instead of layer feed. Gamebird feed has about 22% protein vs 16-18% layer feed. Keep her on the gamebird feed until she's refeathered, then switch back to layer feed.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=160819
see post #4

I agree with dawg53's advice- all of it. Let her heal completely. But you might not see feather regrowth until the molt from what I have read. The extra protein would be helpful.

 

[Buff Oreo]

dont kill it. knit a sweater or get your gramma to do it. i dont think its serious, but if she doesnt grow it back by- well, soon, there is a major problem going on. are the cock and hen seperated? if not do so or get a hen saddle [google it if ya dont know] best of luck!

 

[GoldenSparrow]

lovemychix makes the BEST hen saddles I have ever bought. and I have bought them from many different sellers.

 

[turtlebird]

I had a few hens whose back feathers were worn off from a roo. I noticed that they just weren't growing back after said rooster was removed. Then one day I noticed that the other hens were grazing on all the brand new fluff that was trying to grow back. I got the ladies each a saddle and while they HATED them at first (I was unaware of the flailing themselves against the wall trying to back out of the saddle) but after they got used to it, the feathers grew back beautifully.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Quote:

X3! Great advise as always!

My rescue girls took almost a year before they grew back... as they only molt once a year they didn't grow them back until the next molt.