Hen pecked?

[Katieliz]

I have six hens and one has barely any feathers on her neck and a bald spot on her back, too. I suspect she is being pecked by the others. What can I do? Any safe repellants? Should I just keep her separate from the others? Thanks for any advice!

 

[coach723]

A picture of the bird in question would help. She may be molting, look for pin feathers coming in anywhere on her. Check her over for lice/mites. http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/08/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification.html
If it's feather picking/bullying then some common causes are over crowding, boredom, or not enough protein in the diet which will cause them to eat feathers because they are protein. You will need to try to observe what is going on to determine how to fix it. If you have a bully then separating the bully out for a time can sometimes work to reset the pecking order. Just in case, I will ask if you have a rooster, as feather loss on the back and neck can sometimes be caused by the rooster mounting.

 

[momknowwhat]

I know there are "Hen Protective saddles" you can put on your hens/ I have never used them but have seen them on the internet

 

[micstrachan]

Can you post a photo?

 

[Pork Pie]

I agree that a photo would be helpful. If, after posting a pic, the consensus is feather pecking as being the cause, here's some links that may help:

Feather pecking
http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1148824/topic-of-the-week-feather-pecking-eating
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-much-room-do-chickens-need
http://articles.extension.org/pages...nibalism-in-small-and-backyard-poultry-flocks

 

[micstrachan]

And while we’re at it... IF it turns out to be feather picking, I have successfully used a saddle. It eventually seemed to be digging into her should, though, so I removed it.

 

[chickens really]

Do you have a Rooster?
Breed and age of Birds and what do they eat?...
Many variables to the issue...