Skin problem in Brahma hen

[kroder]

Can anyone please tell me what might be wrong with my 2 year old Buff Brahma hen? A few months ago, I noticed that she was losing feathers on her back. I thought it was a rooster problem and found a home for our very large Blue Opington roo. It did not clear up and I thought maybe she was molting. A few weeks ago I noticed that the skin on her wings was getting very red and swollen. I have checked for mites and lice and have not seen any. They free range all day and are locked up in their house at night. I keep DE in the bottom of the nesting boxes and put in on the floor of the coop when I change the chips. Two other hens have started losing feathers on the heads of their wings. I have 20 hens and a black bantam cochin rooster and a silkie/bantum cochin mix. I bought some ivermectin today and am going to give it to them tonight.

The Buff Brahma close up of her skin

A dark Brahma that has started to lose feathers

Another hen that is fine and just finished molting.

 

[Southernbelle]

It looks like she's molting, it's a typical molting pattern and I can see new feather growth. If the rooster was causing feather damage, sometimes the hen won't grow the feathers back until her yearly molt. The redness could be from sunburn from free-ranging all day on that naked skin. Try confining her to the coop or a shady area to see if the redness lessens. Treating for lice/mites/worms is a good idea to rule out that problem.

 

[Lollipop]

Can`t say why she hasn`t regrown her feathers, but the red skin is commonly caused by exposure to the sun, but it is not painfull. Could be a very slow molt. I once had a dog that had a big scar on his face. Dunno why I did it (long time ago), but I applied Campho Phenique to the scar and hair grew back. May or may not work on a chicken, lol. You could give her a little extra protein and see if that promotes growth. The red skin is not a problem, so don`t worry. Sorry you got rid of your rooster. He sounds like a nice one.......Pop