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[tokenwelshman]

No, not a cheap attempt to attract your attention, dear reader...

 

I've just noticed that two of my three chooks have bare bottoms. One (a speckledy) has a completely bare behind, the other (a Bluebelle) is less pronounced but still pretty draughty looking. My third (black rock) is showing no signs of feather loss.

 

I've had them since the summer, they all get on well (as far as I can see), I've never seen any signs of bullying previously. They are all eating and drinking well. They get mealworms for extra protein on top of their pellets and corn. Their combs are all nice and red, and I'm continuing to get one or two eggs a day even in this weather / at this time of year.

 

I've never seen a moult before so I'm not sure if this is what I should expect? The nesting box has been littered with feathers recently. The Bluebelle sleeps in there so I assumed she was moulting. Hadn't noticed many in the main roosting bar area, where the speckledy and black rock always sleep, which is why the bare bottom on the speckledy took me by surprise...

 

Thanks in advance for any advice...

[Egluntyne]

Sounds as if the blackrock is the culprit.

[Eggasperated]

My Black Rocks are notorious for doing this, I had to rehome one earlier in the year as she constantly stripped feathers out of the others, i've now got a problem with Carol who is going through a protracted moult and has started snacking on feathers from the others especially my Bluebelle . She's now got a bumper bit fitted and i've sprayed the Bluebelle with ukadex.

 

I think the moult and being more restricted in this bad weather has started the problem, just hope I can resolve it before it gets out of hand.

 

Hope you can sort your girls out too.

[tokenwelshman]

So we think it's evil Martha pulling the feathers off the others? That's not good.

 

Just been reading other posts about ukadex and in particular the recommended dress code when applying it (ie naked with rubber gloves on). Hmmm!

 

I've also seen pictures of bumper bits - they look horrific!!

 

Right - ukadex on order. Thanks for the advice. Was really rather hoping the answer would be "don't worry, they're just moulting".

[Eggasperated]

Bumper bits aren't for everyone, and hopefully just as a last resort. Hens do adapt to them very well in most cases, if fact my Pippa adapted so well she still managed to strip feathers whilst wearing hers .

 

Anyway Ukadex is a very good product and hopefully will resolve your problems, I think regular spraying to start with also helps - so good luck with that, hope you know it's also compulsory to post pictures of your attire whilst spraying your girls the first time you do it .

[tokenwelshman]

Attire? You mean just the rubber gloves?

 

Wouldn't wish that on anybody. Besides, there are decency laws to consider.

[Wolfie]

Yes, I admit I was "drawn" to the Bare Bottoms title!

 

Sounds to me (not that I am very knowledgeable you understand) but sounds like "feather pecking". We inherited our first hen from our neighbours because she was pulling the underneath fluffy feathers out of the other three hens in the run. We tried to intergrate her with fresh hens, but the vice continued. So now she lives in her own section of the Walk In Run and has her own Go. She even continued to do it whilst free-ranging in the garden with lots to do! We tried Ukadex - boy is that stuff vile! Yes, wear gloves! But when the Ukadex wears off (after a week say), the feathers get yanked out again.

 

Good luck with your Bare Bottoms.