Feather loss on hen?

20 years ago

I just noticed one of my RIR's (hen 7 months old) has lost a large amount of feathers on her rear end. I find this to be especially alarming since the cold weather has kicked in. She still chooses to go out side despite her bare bottom.

What do you think is causing this? What can I do for her? all other behavior seems normal but I must admit I'm not spending much time with the girls these days with these cold temps.

Thanks for any advice.

-Sheila

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Comments (5)

velvet_sparrow
20 years ago
Check her for mites and/or worms...sometimes hens will pick at themselves because of them. Do you think she may be molting...? If you have a roo, is she his favorite?

It also could be that the other chickens have discovered a fun, new game to entertain themselves called "Let's All Pick Whats-Her-Name's Bottom"...especially if this little hen is at the bottom of the pecking order. If so, try to offer them other things to peck like raw corn on the cob, etc.

Velvet ~:>
sullicorbitt
Original Author
20 years ago
I will check her this a.m. for any external parasites but after thinking about this for a while my gut feel is that it's feather picking.

I have not been letting the girls out as early in the a.m. as I usually do because of the cold and with the very short days they have been inside the coop now more than ever. I will get them some recreational food today and see if that helps. Poor girl she must be cold!

Thanks Velvet :)

-Sheila
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sullicorbitt
Original Author
20 years ago
Well we checked for external parasites and couldn't find anything. But I think I found the offender, I spotted a barred rock with a downy soft feather sticking out of her nose! also spotted two other girls (americanas) with some missing rear feathers. So last night we hung a chicken piÃ±ata made of green cabbage and it appears to be the entertainment that they really needed. It makes sense to me that the girls would be getting bored this time of year. We are also going to back off a bit on the artificial light we provide...it's not worth the extra eggs if my girls are not happy.

-Sheila
velvet_sparrow
20 years ago
I forgot to add, if the other hens are also EATING the feathers they pick, offer some extra protein, they may be craving protein and are resorting to feather picking to get it.

Velvet ~:>
sullicorbitt
Original Author
20 years ago
Thanks Velvet, thankfully I believe I found the solution. I have been consistant with the chicken piÃ±ata and I turned the timer on the artificial light back two hours. So far so good, no feather pulling that I can see.

For Christmas dh got me a chicken video camera so now I can monitor the inside coop anytime. This has been such a terrific tool. It has always been a mystery to me what the girls did after the outdoor hours and now I know! I have it set up to watch the piÃ±ata activity and part of the roosts. Next addition will be an extra add on camera for the nesting boxes :)

-Sheila