When butt feathers disappear...

[gritsar]

Quote:
What ever happened with your Barred Rocks with the missing butt fuzz? I have one with a bare red butt and it doesn't seem like anything is growing back. It's been at least a month. Like yours, she seems clean and OK otherwise.

I can tell you that all of my adult hens have the reddish, bare circle around their vent, but you have to seperate the "butt fluff" from the fluff under the tailfeathers to see it well. On my cornish X pullets that are laying you can see it without seperating the fluff, because they aren't as heavily feathered/fluffy in that area. It comes from laying eggs over a period of time.

 

[claudiabarry]

Their fluffy butts...No feathers..???? I have 9 chicken's.8 of them have missing feathers. I have a 5x8 chicken coop house 8 individual laying boxes.
outside they are fenced in with a 10x10 . When they go in the smaller coop they all want to sit on the same board. I'm finding that now the top feathers are starting to be missing..I give them Laying pellets,flex seed,chicken scratch,oyster shells, their eggs are beautiful. I also spread (diatamashes) dont know the spelling..earth for lice. Is this normal.
because it doesn't look pretty..

 

[glainerussell]

I am having the same problem with my little flock my RI Reds are loosing their butt feathers. Butt no one seems to have an explanation for it or a cure. If you find something out please let me know.

 

[stcroixusvi]

It's great when these old threads get new life. We have a rooster with a bald rear end. We found out by watching for a while that the hens peck him. He is so busy watching out for danger, they walk by him, tilt their heads and peck at his fuzzy butt feathers, pulling them out and leaving him bald. We are going to pull him out and let him recover.

 

[DaVuechicky]

I have two Barred Rocks who started molting with the others their age, but never finished. They've got that bare-bottom issue. A lady with a lot more experience than me suggested giving them suet. I haven't seen any results yet.

 

[willowbranchfarm]

What are you feeding them?? They could be not getting enough protein to finish.

 

[Smith Hill Cottage]

Bare Bottoms on My Beauties and Big Red Roo
In a flock of 25, late November I noticed Big Red butt pecked by hens as they casually passed him in the enclosed yard. Subsequent weeks, 8 hens are bare bottomed; some w/ small "wound" areas. After some observation, it seems that there is no one culprit. For about two weeks at night I have been "nursing" individuals w/ a mix of Desitin, olive oil, Gold Bond medicated powder, Bacitracin or Neosporin on their exposed and red areas. Big Red's condition got so bad that I brought him into a garage pen.
At one time my flock was quite beautiful; now some are looking raggedy. Egg production has been fine. I see no evidence of mites, and keep a clean coop w/ pine shavings, either swept weekly or re-layered w/ clean. I have started adding "electrolyte" mix to water.
What else can I do?

 

[DaVuechicky]

They are getting L&K layer crumbles, cracked corn, sunflower seeds, and oyster shells, not to mention kitchen scraps and whatever they find in the yard when it is not snow-covered. The two barred rocks in question have had their bare behinds since late summer. All the other BR's their age have filled in fine. I will have to look into the pecking issue since those two are rather low on the totem pole. But, I don't know...

 

[Cknldy]

Vent gleet may be a possibility. Beekissed -from other threads and believer in more natural methods- uses NuStock. If nothing else is working for u try it. I'm sure the taste of it will also stop butt fluff pecking!