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What's wrong with my hen?

What sort of roosts do you have? I've seen this on birds that are sleeping on their roosts in an odd position, and maybe the size and shape of the perch is contributing to the rubbing of the feathers. It's definitely not molt.

Mites could be the cause. Check the birds over closely for signs of red, irritated skin. Check the roosts at night with a flashlight. Also, if you're eye sight is challenged, take a damp paper towel and wipe the perch. You should see red smears if there are mites on the perch.
 
I agree with @ChickNanny13 it looks like the feathers are either being rubbed off or plucked out. Watch her to see if she is plucking her own feathers out or if she has someone doing it for her. (observe her roosting mates at night to see if the picking is happening at night)

Check her over really well for external parasites and also make sure her crop is emptying overnight (full at night/empty in the morning before eating/drinking).

You can apply a little BluKote to help hide the redness.

What type of food/treats do you feed? Feather picking can be from boredom, lack of space, not enough protein or you may just have bird that has a bad habit. If your feed is fairly low in protein, add extra protein to your flock's diet, extra vitamins once a week won't hurt. Lack of space and boredom leads to unwanted behavior, add perches to your run, hang veggies/fruit and try to keep them occupied.

Let us know how she's doing.


I looked at the base of her feathers all around and didn't see anything, so I'm guessing either her or another bird is doing it, I guess it's a possibility they could be getting bored but they have a huge run so it's not space, we are getting our pigs moved out of our backyard so then they can go back to free ranging all the time and boredom won't be an issue.
 
What sort of roosts do you have? I've seen this on birds that are sleeping on their roosts in an odd position, and maybe the size and shape of the perch is contributing to the rubbing of the feathers. It's definitely not molt.

Mites could be the cause. Check the birds over closely for signs of red, irritated skin. Check the roosts at night with a flashlight. Also, if you're eye sight is challenged, take a damp paper towel and wipe the perch. You should see red smears if there are mites on the perch.
What sort of roosts do you have? I've seen this on birds that are sleeping on their roosts in an odd position, and maybe the size and shape of the perch is contributing to the rubbing of the feathers. It's definitely not molt.

Mites could be the cause. Check the birds over closely for signs of red, irritated skin. Check the roosts at night with a flashlight. Also, if you're eye sight is challenged, take a damp paper towel and wipe the perch. You should see red smears if there are mites on the perch.


I looked her over and didn't see anything, no bugs and no redness besides that one spot. Our coop isn't fully done so we only have a couple temporary logs in there for roost but I believe she doesn't even roost on those at night
 
If she's eating/drinking/pooping normal, no one's pecking at her, she's not plucking herself, they have plenty of space, their feeder is not the problem ... Next question what kind of log are you using? Have you noticed feathers under it? Could be an allergic reaction too? Still think it maybe a rubbing issue, put some Blu Kote to tend the redness cause chickens love the color red. Keep an eye on her and wait & see....Just my thoughts.
 

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