Chicken "hot spot"? Hen picking a patch of skin raw.

[JHH3]

I have a jungle fowl hen that has picked a raw patch on her back, it's not too deep (yet) but as soon as it scabs over she picks it raw again.

She's been separated from the flock so she's not getting picked at by others, she's doing it to herself.

It looks like she's molting, the feathers on her back above her tail are fluffy and she picks at them and she has a bare spot on her back the center of which is where she's picking at herself.

I keep treating the spot with vetericyn so it doesn't get infected but she still picks at it.

Any suggestions on how I can get her to stop?

 

[AppuJuice]

Sometimes the color red makes them prone to continued picking, you could try blu-kote that would mask the color and hopefully help ward off infection

 

[JHH3]

Sometimes the color red makes them prone to continued picking, you could try blu-kote that would mask the color and hopefully help ward off infection

I tried blu-kote, twice, it scabbed up and she picked at it until it was raw again. It's really annoying her, apparently.

 

[AppuJuice]

sounds like she's determined if it is possible vet wrapping it until it heals could be an option I've also seen chicken cones of shame or E-Collars used if its a persistent issue which could be worth looking into you'd likely have to make one yourself though or look into ones for parrots there are a few resources online for making/using them on chickens and chicks that's my line of thinking at least I'll have to see if I can find some good resources for that

 

[JHH3]

sounds like she's determined if it is possible vet wrapping it until it heals could be an option I've also seen chicken cones of shame or E-Collars used if its a persistent issue which could be worth looking into you'd likely have to make one yourself though or look into ones for parrots there are a few resources online for making/using them on chickens and chicks that's my line of thinking at least I'll have to see if I can find some good resources for that

I tried putting an oversized chicken saddle on her and I was able to adjust it to fit her but she freaked out with it on and was bouncing off the walls of her cage trying to get out of it so I took it off her to keep her from hurting herself.

I have vet wrap but I'm afraid that she's going to freak out like she did with the saddle or just work her way out of it, but I'll try that next and see what happens.

A cone of shame might work if she'll tolerate it being on her.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have a jungle fowl hen that has picked a raw patch on her back, it's not too deep (yet) but as soon as it scabs over she picks it raw again.

She's been separated from the flock so she's not getting picked at by others, she's doing it to herself.

It looks like she's molting, the feathers on her back above her tail are fluffy and she picks at them and she has a bare spot on her back the center of which is where she's picking at herself.

I keep treating the spot with vetericyn so it doesn't get infected but she still picks at it.

Any suggestions on how I can get her to stop?

I tried blu-kote, twice, it scabbed up and she picked at it until it was raw again. It's really annoying her, apparently.

I tried putting an oversized chicken saddle on her and I was able to adjust it to fit her but she freaked out with it on and was bouncing off the walls of her cage trying to get out of it so I took it off her to keep her from hurting herself.

I have vet wrap but I'm afraid that she's going to freak out like she did with the saddle or just work her way out of it, but I'll try that next and see what happens.

A cone of shame might work if she'll tolerate it being on her.

Can you get some photos so we can see the location of the wound and her overall condition?

I would assume she's extremely flighty, but I would check her really well for lice/mites.
If you look at the wound, can you tell if maybe it's an ingrown feather follicle that she's picking at, her preening gland, etc.?

Picking may be nerves? Does she have space?
It would be good to figure out why she's picking at herself to begin with so it can be resolved, but I would try Pine Tar on the wound to see if that helps deter her.

 

[JHH3]

Can you get some photos so we can see the location of the wound and her overall condition?

I would assume she's extremely flighty, but I would check her really well for lice/mites.
If you look at the wound, can you tell if maybe it's an ingrown feather follicle that she's picking at, her preening gland, etc.?

Picking may be nerves? Does she have space?
It would be good to figure out why she's picking at herself to begin with so it can be resolved, but I would try Pine Tar on the wound to see if that helps deter her.

All the jungle fowl are a bit skittish, she's the tamest of the bunch but she's not used to being shut up in a cage. I see no obvious signs of mites or lice but I did spray her with some Davis Pure Planet Poultry spray which is meant for mites/lice, etc.

I'll attach some pictures, she's scabbed up over night and hasn't picked it raw yet today though she went most of the day yesterday before she picked it raw again that afternoon. She's got a bunch of feather follicles in the area she's picking at, when it's raw I haven't noticed anything that looks like an ingrown follicle that's still under the skin but I'm not experienced enough to know what's normal and not normal.

I'll see about getting some Pine Tar for her wound.

Here are the pictures.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

It's probably dry and itchy - see where the skin is being pulled by the scabs - sort of drawn in. We all know how a healing scab can itch, this may be what she's doing. If you can't get pine tar, then I would apply triple antibiotic ointment to help keep it moist and see if that gives her some relief.

She's a nice looking hen.

 

[JHH3]

It's probably dry and itchy - see where the skin is being pulled by the scabs - sort of drawn in. We all know how a healing scab can itch, this may be what she's doing. If you can't get pine tar, then I would apply triple antibiotic ointment to help keep it moist and see if that gives her some relief.

She's a nice looking hen.

I don't doubt that it is itchy, I'll put some on her in the morning when she's awake. She didn't mess with it too much today that I've seen, so maybe she'll leave it alone from now on.

Thanks, she is a pretty little hen. Feisty too, she's the smallest hen in the flock and she's not at the bottom of the pecking order. She's one of my favorites.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I don't doubt that it is itchy, I'll put some on her in the morning when she's awake. She didn't mess with it too much today that I've seen, so maybe she'll leave it alone from now on.

Thanks, she is a pretty little hen. Feisty too, she's the smallest hen in the flock and she's not at the bottom of the pecking order. She's one of my favorites.

I'm glad she stopped messing with it, hopefully it will heal quickly, she's got some new feathers coming in .
Do you know how she became so raw to begin with? Rooster?