What is This?!?! (Pics included)

[CJkid]

I've been really watching my hens since there are several missing feathers on their backs. I'm thinking this maybe could be from the rooster.

In my daily surveillance of my girls i noticed one had a red spot on her butt. I picked her up to examine her closer and could see red ares from her butt and across her belly. (i have attached pics) Any idea what could have caused this?

I watched her for awhile and she acts totally normal. When i came back out to get a picture of her i had to wait because she was laying an egg. I watched her lay the egg, everything normal, she sat contentedly for a little while, moving her egg around and sitting on it.

I added pics of what her belly looks like.
Please anyone have any ideas?





Also of some pics of the hens backs to see if anyone has an idea there as well.

 

[cafarmgirl]

I think you do have some wear and tear from the rooster but it looks like there might be something else going on as well with the redness and feather loss on the belly. Have you checked them carefully for mites/lice?

 

[Wyandottes7]

Has she gone broody lately? Broody birds will pull out their feathers on the belly. Also, does she dust bathe a lot? When my birds dust bathe, they sometimes break some of their breast feathers, but they never lose as many as yours. I'd check her for mites, as they can cause feather loss. Check in the feathers near the vent, under the neck, and in the wing feathers. If you see mites (small dark specks moving around), treat with Sevin powder or a mite spray like Poultry Protector. Mites will irritate the skin, turning it red like what your bird has.

The feather loss on your birds is almost definitely from a rooster. How many hens do you have (whats your hen to rooster ratio)? Ideally, you want eight hens to one rooster or more, or the rooster will tear up their backs. To alleviate the problem, you can get more hens, get rid of the rooster, or put hen "saddles" on their backs. "Saddles" are pieces of cloth that go over the back., preventing roosters from tearing out feathers.

Hope this helps!

 

[CJkid]

thanks for the advice, as far as my hens backs i had suspected it was the rooster and you guys helped confirm that and i know he has enough girls (23-1)

and i don't want to get rid of him, so i have ordered my girls some chicken saddles like you suggested they should be here in a few more days. He must just really like those hens and doesn't know his own strength. But i'm hoping those saddles will do the trick.

as far as my little red bellied chicken i checked her for mites this morning and didn't see anything. i tried touching her belly where it was red and she didn't act like it hurt at all. is it possible she has some kind of allergy or something? also even tho i didn't see any mites i know they can be hard to find so should i just go ahead and do some kind of treatment to make sure? if i did would i just treat her or do something with the coop as well? i've never done that before so i'm really in dark as to how to go about it.

 

[MelissaTXRn]

Her tummy could look like that if she has been sitting on eggs. (Broody) Their backs do look like the rooster did it. I would go ahead a dust them with Sevin dust, just to be on the safe side. It never hurts, lol Mine get dusted regularly.

 

[SHP]

Found something similar going on with one of our hens today! Her feathers have been thin on her chest as I can see her skin when her crop is full.

She's eating and drinking fine, enough energy to give me a heck of a time catching her to check on her , she seems to be acting pretty normal otherwise. She was given to us in June and I don't know how old she is.

she has always laid oddly shaped eggs with thin shells despite the oyster shell available.

I wanted a closer look when I noticed that today her skin was showing red through the thin feathers. When I turned her over I could see that her feathers are missing across her belly and there's more redness.

No mites or lice that I can see around her vent, belly, wings, etc. Not broody, lays almost every day.

Did you find out what had been wrong?