What do I do re: missing bum/vent feathers -- Photo attached

[HenNewbie]

HISTORY -- I had 4 Buffs until a month ago. Now there are 3. They are 13 months old. 1 hen is broody and I am letting her ride it out, the other 2 are fine - I thought. I am getting 1 - 2 eggs per day.

PROBLEM -- 1 of my 2 laying chickens has had a dirty looking bum and feathers. I did not think of it as sticky bum, as there was nothing stringy or hanging or apparently blocking per ability to poop or lay. The feathers were just grungy looking. As the issue continued I looked closer and saw that she has a rather good-sized area without feathers.

ACTION TAKEN -- I filled a tub with warm water and had my husband hold her submerged just enough so that I could really try to wash her bum. I am still not really certain where her vent is... I did not do any probing. While she did not seem to mind the bath, I was a little grossed out and hesitant to explore too much.

QUESTION -- Please tell me what is going on and if she is going to survive. She looks good (other than her bum). Her comb is red and standing. She is eating (and pooping as best I can tell) and I believe she is laying.

Please note that the photo was taken just minutes after her bath.

 

[peaceful]

Her vent is higher up, nearer where the slightly darker feathers are, above the featherless area and below the tail feathers. I'm not sure what missing feathers on the backside mean exactly (dirty with poo and pulled off? others pecking? mites?), and the area is a little red (possibly from the washing?), but for what it's worth if she is just missing feathers and everything else seems fine (eating, drinking, laying, good colour, active) I wouldn't about her not surviving. How did the other chicken die?
Maybe someone else has some info for you.

 

[Big Chicken Little]

I am having the same problem they about 8 hens out of 20 have been moulting since Jan

 

[Rocky Top Chick]

I have one that has looked that way for a year so we just call her naked butt. I have no idea why she is this way, but I haven't worried about her. She still lays and plays with the others.

 

[HenNewbie]

Thank you !! Now that she is all dry and clean, you don't really even see the area with no feathers. She looks very similar from the backside as do the other birds. She seems happy and productive, so I guess I just got excited again by my lack of experience. Thanks, again.

 

[HenNewbie]

Quote:
Thank you! I thought maybe during her bath I saw something which could have been her vent, because it was kind of pulsing while I washed..?? So, I think that confirms it. Good to know.

 

[HenNewbie]

Quote:
Fine at 9am. Laying feet in the air at 11am. When my husband took her out, she was still warm, did not have any apparent sign of trauma (but then I didn't know where their crops or vents were until the last two weeks), and had not been showing any signs of malaise or illness to my eye...?? After posting about her death, I learned to check for a few things, like a broken neck, full crop, impacted egg, but only after my husband had removed her. They do not run as our neighbors' dogs seem to have run of the rural neighborhood and they do have a beautiful playpen coop worthy of Fort Knox certification. I just didn't take into consideration at the time of holding those darling little chicks, the mortality issues none of us can escape. However, I am still curious as to why?