white leghorn with bare butt

[granmahen]

Why in the world would my 1 1/2 yr. old leghorn hen lose all her feathers around her vent? This happened over a month ago and not a new feather in sight. She's my littlest hen, but lays the largest eggs. Don't know how she gets them out! The loss of feathers is pretty big, about the size of a large avocado. Help!

 

[PeeperKeeper]

Lice? Or is she getting ready to molt? Mine all lost their rear feathers first and took 2-3 months to grow any back. Some took a little longer!

 

[granmahen]

Should I just pat her with powder, just in case its lice....how can I tell.....will I be able to see them?

 

[gkeesling]

I had three Barr Rocks did the very same thing. At first Ithought they were molting, but it was just the three and they didn't lose any feathers anywhere else but around their vent. Then I thought they might have mites, and that was causing it. So, I caught all 21 hens and sprayed them all. I didn't see any signs of mites but I sprayed them anyway. I have the same question. What might be causing it? It doesn't appear to be molting and I can't find any bugs on them. hmmmm.

 

[matthewschickens]

Do you have a Rooster or an aggresive hen that could be bullying her?

Matthew

 

[LynneP]

I have one like that who self-plucks. She won't do it when I'm around though I almost caught her one day in a nest box, clearing off a patch between her legs. When she heard me all I saw was a feather drifting out of the box- then she pretended nothing was amiss.

She's also broody though she keeps her weight on, so I don;t fret. Ahem.

You can see where she plucks in this photo- more or less!

(click to enlarge)

 

[CityChook]

My BOs did that last winter. I finally caught one of them... she was pulling out her own downy feathers. I flipped! It was February and very very cold here in MN. I dusted for lice/mites although I never did see one (check the chickens at night when they're on the roost. Use a flashlight. Mites are small and black or red and tend to be around the vent.) They have plenty of space and a very cushy lifestyle. I chalked it up to nutritional imbalance from feeding them cracked corn as a bedtime treat (meant to keep them warmer at night). Anyways, they had bare monkey-butts all summer until they molted this fall and grew back new heinie feathers. They look awesome now - finally. Now if I could just get them to start laying again...

 

[granmahen]

Just the weirdest thing ever. The other four are just fine. I will do a little spying to see if she's doing it to herself. Other than that, she's still my best layer.