What do you think might have happened here?

[Millerhenhouse]

Just wanting your thoughts on how you think she got her feathers yanked out like this, in this localized pattern. Did one of the other hens do this, is this a strange molt pattern, or something else? Basically just wondering if I should be concerned about her and whether anything needs to be done with this spot. It doesn't appear to be bloody at all--just bald.

Here's a pic of all of her, to get some perspective. She's not lost feathers anywhere else.

 

[RingedTeal]

Coon might have tried to get her?

 

[kgdubois]

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This looks to me like something grabbed a hand or mouthful of her feathers & she pulled away. From what I've seen of chicken feather pulling, it's usually red and/or bloody when the flock gets to them.

 

[kgdubois]

Quote:
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This looks to me like something grabbed a hand or mouthful of her feathers & she pulled away. From what I've seen of chicken feather pulling, it's usually red and/or bloody when the flock gets to them.

 

[Darklingstorm]

Is she molting?
I have a Jersey Giant that looked normal until I picked her up and all the feathers on her tummy was gone. I noticed there were a few quills starting to come back in. I'm glad to report that her tummy is now all feathered back.

If not, you might want to walk around and see were the feathers might have gone. I've never heard of a predator taking the feathers with them. At least it will tell you where she was attacked at.

 

[Millerhenhouse]

Well, we have 14 chickens and four of them are molting, so there are feathers all over the place, really. There is truly no evidence of any "fowl-play" anywhere in the chicken yard or coop. I have no idea what happened.