Bald, irritated butt/underbelly.

[soospickle]

Hi!

I have a very cooperative 8 month old Noiran with a sore, featherless bottom. It doesn't feel hard or have any visible pus, a few scabs but they do not appear infected. It happened between this health check and last (about a week apart). I have yet to catch anyone bullying her but I am suspicious. I wanted another opinion to ensure I'm not missing an important detail or before getting an agro vet involved (as I don't live close and don't have access to OTC chicken products).

We use deep litter method, we only have 4 girls and no rooster. There are no visible mites or lice. I'm not convinced it's gleet as there is no discharge, no smell, and no drop in egg production. She is eating and drinking normally, poop is normal. I've cleaned her up and put some antibiotic ointment in the mean time. She is acting completely normal otherwise, jumping on the perch, scratching around etc. No signs of distress.

Really appreciate this community and thank you for taking the time to read.

 

[LaFleche]

Her feathers are getting plucked by her flock member(s).

What exactly are you feeding and how much space do they have in their coop and run?

Do they free range at all?

Spend some time observing them to identify the offender. A coop camera can show their behaviour on the roosting bar.
You then can use Pinless Peepers on them to stop the pecking/plucking.

 

[soospickle]

Her feathers are getting plucked by her flock member(s).

What exactly are you feeding and how much space do they have in their coop and run?

Do they free range at all?

Thank you for the reply!

I figure that might be the cause. They have a 13x16 covered run and a 4x6x5 sleeping area with multiple roosting bars/nesting boxes and access to an 8x12 'shed' when its too cold to go outside. They eat 16% countryrite layer feed, which is the only feed I have access to besides 18%. We have been giving them some scratch/veg scraps and they have oyster shells on the side.

They are currently not free ranging as we have 90+cm of snow down.

 

[LaFleche]

16% protein is already very low for young laying hens in winter.

Anything else you feed like vegetables or scratch will decrease the total % of protein even more, so it would be best to switch to an unmedicated chick starter or an all flock feed with 20-22% protein and crushed oyster shell and granite grit in separate dishes free choice.

This way feeding them treats occasionally will not cause deficiencies.

 

[soospickle]

16% protein is already very low for young laying hens in winter.

Anything else you feed like vegetables or scratch will decrease the total % of protein even more, so it would be best to switch to an unmedicated chick starter or an all flock feed with 20-22% protein and crushed oyster shell and granite grit in separate dishes free choice.

This way feeding them treats occasionally will not cause deficiencies.

Thank you for the advice! I’ll contact my co-op to see if I can get something higher protein for them.

Thank you again!!