Picture of bare bottom - Is this molt

[Lynettte]

Is my chicken molting she has lost a lot of feathers around her vent and underneath, I have another chicken with the same loss but she also has feathers missing from her tail and scruffy at the side. I thought they were molting but its been approx 3 - 4 months. Out of 9 chickens all except one are starting to show partial feather loss around their bottoms. The one who isnt had a molt around her neck before winter and now looks very fluffy.

Egg production hasnt dropped.
They are not overcrowded
Layers pellets in the morning, then all day free ranging, corn in the evening.
Timed coop so they always get maximum sunlight
Im treating the coop with mite powder regularly,

 

[Judy]

Molting normally starts at the head / neck end and follows a pretty specific path (see below.) Ordinarily, feather loss at the vent is from feather picking, and feather loss over the breast is from a hen pulling its own feathers in preparation for sitting on a clutch of eggs to hatch, or going broody. Feather picking is usually related to limited space and boredom, and / or too little protein -- which in turn can be caused by too many non-protein treats.

http://msucares.com/poultry/management/poultry_feathers.html

 

[terryg]

This is not molt, but it is not necessarily feather picking either. Some of my best layers get bare bottoms as the season wears on. (Photos on link below.) But, your hen looks to be irritated. Check for external parasites. I've also have a hen that has had a mysterious coarse red butt for years now. It helps to give it TLC. Check my post about how to clean it up and treat. (Also applies to vent gleet.) http://www.hencam.com/henblog/2011/08/chickens-have-messy-bottoms/

 

[Lynettte]

Thank you for your replies and confirming that it's not molt.

I cant see parasites, but because there is more than one hen with some feather loss behind, i have given them all a thorough delousing today plus scaley leg mite treatment.

The coop has had a good clean too and treated. I clean the coop weekly and use mite powder, but how often should I dust the chickens? I am currently doing it approx every 2 months.

 

[jomoncon]

I have 8 RIRs, and about 3 have the same type of bare bottoms as yours. I can see no sign of parasites, but I've been dusting with sevin every 2 weeks to be sure. This has been going on at least a month.

I appreciated the referenced link by Judy and will try some providone.

 

[ButchGood]

This is not molt, but it is not necessarily feather picking either. Some of my best layers get bare bottoms as the season wears on. (Photos on link below.) But, your hen looks to be irritated. Check for external parasites. I've also have a hen that has had a mysterious coarse red butt for years now. It helps to give it TLC. Check my post about how to clean it up and treat. (Also applies to vent gleet.) http://www.hencam.com/henblog/2011/08/chickens-have-messy-bottoms/

Very good messy bottom article. I put this in my notes for future reference in case my Orps. or Astralorps have this problem. I want all my girls to have nice fluffy butts.

 

[Leslybrooke]

I just got this chicken yesterday and just noticed this today. Is this something I should be concerned with? I'm also new to this site and don't really know how to work it yet

 

[KristanS]

Thank you for your replies and confirming that it's not molt.

I cant see parasites, but because there is more than one hen with some feather loss behind, i have given them all a thorough delousing today plus scaley leg mite treatment.

The coop has had a good clean too and treated. I clean the coop weekly and use mite powder, but how often should I dust the chickens? I am currently doing it approx every 2 months.

Did you ever figure out the cause of this? Mine are going through the exact same thing right now. They will be a year old in May. Haven’t stopped laying and the few freeloaders I have still have all of their feathers.