Two identical bald spots on my hen, and she's not molting

[crzychicknlady7]

My barred rock has two identical bald spots on her back, on the same spot on the tip of each of her wings. (Shoulder area) They have been there for about 4 months now and she isn't molting. I don't have a rooster so that can't be it. She gets along perfectly with my other hens. Where her missing patches are her skin looks very red and irritated. She is a happy free range hen who eats only organic crumbles, fresh veggies, an occasional scratch. I'd like to get to the source of the problem so her feathers can hopefully grow back! Any ideas?!

 

[janinepeters]

Sometimes if there is no roo in the flock, one of the hens will act like a roo and begin mounting some of the other hens. This can result in bare spots on shoulders and/or back, just like what is usually caused by rooster mounting. Watch carefully and see if one of your other hens mounts that barred rock.

 

[crzychicknlady7]

Thanks for your reply!
I have been watching them for a couple of months and I have never noticed any behavior like that. Sometimes I spend a good chunk of the day watching them and they all just roam around and occasionally cuddle underneath my front deck.
I've checked them for mites and bugs and they're all clean. I may end up taking her to a bird vet if I can't figure it out soon. It just doesn't seem to bother her at all so I'm puzzled.

 

[lizablair]

I have a hen with a bare back that is scalded looking..she has been this way for 5 months..I thought it was the rooster and moved her to a separate yard with 3 other reds and a black hen...it has never improved...I have dusted for mites on her and the nestbox and the yard..I have used diam. earth and never any change..there is no other hen acting like a roo either...she is going to be cold this winter is what I am worried about...?

 

[mickey328]

We have one that has exactly the same issue. It's been going on for several months and she's otherwise healthy. I think I know who the "boss" girl is in our little flock, so she's going into isolation for a few days. It should shift the pecking order around and I hope she won't be quite so aggressive then.

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

My barred rock has two identical bald spots on her back, on the same spot on the tip of each of her wings. (Shoulder area) They have been there for about 4 months now and she isn't molting. I don't have a rooster so that can't be it. She gets along perfectly with my other hens. Where her missing patches are her skin looks very red and irritated. She is a happy free range hen who eats only organic crumbles, fresh veggies, an occasional scratch. I'd like to get to the source of the problem so her feathers can hopefully grow back! Any ideas?!

Are your girls penned up in a run or free range. I think if they are penned up she is pacing along the fencing which rubs the feathers off and irritates the skin. BR's don't handle confinement well. I had to put my 2 into the tractor when one got injured(her sis was her company) and they paced the fencing because they wanted out so badly. I hope this sheds some light on a possible situation.

Just reread your post,so she does free range. How long is she in the coop/run before let out to range?

 

[casportpony]

Thanks for your reply!

I have been watching them for a couple of months and I have never noticed any behavior like that. Sometimes I spend a good chunk of the day watching them and they all just roam around and occasionally cuddle underneath my front deck.
I've checked them for mites and bugs and they're all clean. I may end up taking her to a bird vet if I can't figure it out soon. It just doesn't seem to bother her at all so I'm puzzled.

I had one with similar bald spots and I couldn't see and mites/lice anywhere, but I decided to dust her anyway... All of the bugs must have been hiding in the feather shafts or other places that I couldn't see, but she did have tons of lice. I would dust her and the others.

 

[casportpony]

I have a hen with a bare back that is scalded looking..she has been this way for 5 months..I thought it was the rooster and moved her to a separate yard with 3 other reds and a black hen...it has never improved...I have dusted for mites on her and the nestbox and the yard..I have used diam. earth and never any change..there is no other hen acting like a roo either...she is going to be cold this winter is what I am worried about...?

DE has not worked for me, ever. I now use poultry dust.

 

[delisha]

Your hen maybe rubbing it raw. She is probably getting in close and tight in *her* spot at night or like was posted, she is not tolerating confinement and pacing. Start tossing BOSS in the litter, yard, run, to give her something to do. You might consider turning her run into a compost sight this winter so next spring your chickens have a play yard to dig in filled with worms and bugs.

 

[janinepeters]

I wonder if it would help to post a picture of her. Seems unlikely for a free ranging hen to be rubbing it raw. I'm still thinking it's another hen mounting her, and it would be interesting to see if the bald spots really are exactly where they would be on a hen who is often mounted.

I spend quite a bit of time watching my chickens, too, but one of my hens had worn shoulders - not bald, just scruffy and worn - for weeks before I finally saw another hen mount her. I think it is easy to miss this behavior, because the mounting hen does not necessarily crow or do the wing drop dance, the way a rooster does (my hen does not do any of those behaviors; she just mounts). My dominant hen seems to mount only a few times a day, and without all the noise and dancing of an ostentatious rooster, she doesn't draw attention to it, and it really isn't very noticeable.