Officialish Chicken Photo Thread!

[horsecrazygirl]

Do any of you have chickens with bare patches on there backs? Near the tail? Just a bald patch of skin with no feathers and no new feathers growing? We have no rooster so its not because of a rooster being there. Otherwise they seem completely healthy.

[Celeste]

I do. I know that one of the roosters was plucking them, but there are still two with the problem. They may be plucking each other. I'll be interested to see what the others say.

[FlyGap]

Are you SURE there isn't a rooster? Lol!
Maybe just molting? Mites? I sprinkle a little DE when I change their bedding and haven't had a problem, but I gots to kill me a rooster. It's getting chilly out, poor girls!
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[Dreamcatcher Arabians]

Sometimes hens will get to be bullies and will start attacking the other hens or just one lowly hen. If you can figure out who the bully is, sometimes separating them for a few weeks can upset the pecking order enough that the bully comes back demoted. If not, they make things called Pin-less Peepers that you can put on the bird who is being the bully and it stops them from pecking. Or you can cull the bully before the rest of the flock decides to take it up too.

[horsecrazygirl]

See the bald patch?

[Celeste]

That's what my rooster was doing before I turned him loose in the yard. Two of the hens still have some plucked spots, but not as bad as those. They were just as bad.

[horsecrazygirl]

So that means I have a bully in the flock? How do I stop it. Theses pictures are a little old so its still like that but it seems like its growing.

[Celeste]

Originally Posted by horsecrazygirl    

so that means I have a bully in the flock?

I think so. It looks more like plucked chickens than sick chickens.

I don't know what to do about it or I would do it with my chickens. Taking the really mean rooster out of the flock has helped, but there are still two birds that have some plucked areas.

I would never advocated doing it, but I do see why commercial egg growers use individual cages for their hens. I can't, however, see why they put them in tiny cages. I suspect that a somewhat plucked chicken is happier than a caged chicken. Then again, I may be wrong.

[horsecrazygirl]

Originally Posted by Celeste    

I think so. It looks more like plucked chickens than sick chickens.

I don't know what to do about it or I would do it with my chickens. Taking the really mean rooster out of the flock has helped, but there are still two birds that have some plucked areas.

I would never advocated doing it, but I do see why commercial egg growers use individual cages for their hens. I can't, however, see why they put them in tiny cages. I suspect that a somewhat plucked chicken is happier than a caged chicken. Then again, I may be wrong.

My chickens have afit if they get locked inside there huge coop(its nearly the size if my room!) so I think plucked chicken is happier then a caged chicken.i have seen some of them plucking at each other.but I have also seen nearly every one of them doing it to each other.

[Conway]

This is my FAVORITE chicken of all times.
He is a game rooster, his name is "Rice" and he is my yard dog.

He meets me on the porch every morning and eats a handful of dog kibble as a treat before he goes out in the yard to strut his stuff.