As a chicken owner, you may notice your feathery friend developing bald patches underneath their body. This unsightly bare skin where normally there are fluffy feathers can be concerning. But don’t count your chickens before they hatch—there are several common reasons for bald spots below the belly. I’ll walk you through the likely causes and solutions so you can get to the bottom of the baldness.
Moulting
Moulting is the most common and harmless reason for baldness on a chicken. Simply put moulting is when chickens naturally shed their old feathers and grow new ones. It usually happens once a year in the fall or after winter. However chickens may experience small moulting periods during stressful events like sudden temperature drops.
Chickens use all of their energy to grow new feathers during a moult. This causes them to lay fewer eggs or even stop laying eggs all together. You’ll notice them looking a bit under the weather. As the feathers fall out, what starts out as small bald spots quickly grows to reveal huge bare spots underneath. The bald spots should be filled in by new feather growth in 6 to 12 weeks.
Support your moulting chicken by providing extra protein, minerals, and supplements. Products with additional biotin, vitamin E, omega fatty acids, and antioxidants promote faster, healthier feather regrowth. Keep them free from stress, drafts, and predators while their plumage renews. With TLC and patience, their naked underside will be covered in fresh plumage soon enough.
Broodiness
Broody chickens can exhibit baldness on their underside due to constantly sitting on a nest. The constant pressure rubs their breast feathers away, leaving a bare patch. These dedicated chickens sit for weeks incubating a clutch of eggs. They rarely leave the nest to eat, drink, or dust bathe during this time.
To discourage broodiness, remove any eggs from the nesting box. Also, block access to nests and coop corners where they tend to go broody. Avoid giving them dark, confined nesting areas Increase light exposure to interrupt their brooding behavior Make sure they have ample access to food, water, dust baths, and space to prevent broodiness from developing.
If the bald spot is raw or injured from continuous contact with the nest, apply an antibacterial ointment. Otherwise, the feathers will grow back on their own once the broody behavior stops. Promote quick regrowth with supplements and optimal nutrition. Discourage re-nesting until her underside is fully feathered again.
Feather Pecking
Sadly, chickens can get mean and pluck out each other’s feathers. Feather pecking usually starts with harmless curiosity about interesting feathers. But it can get worse and turn into harsh pecking that hurts skin and removes feathers. People who have been feather pecked have open bald spots that are constantly being picked on. The blood and bare skin make the criminals want to peck even more.
Closely observe your flock dynamics to identify bullies. Remove aggressive chickens immediately to protect their victims and prevent the behavior from spreading. Try introducing bird-safe mirrors and pecking toys to redirect pecking urges. Make sure their environment is stimulating with sufficient space, foraging material, and dust baths.
Supplement their diet with more protein, calcium, and phosphorus to reduce pecking. Apply anti-pecking creams on wounds to deter further damage while the feathers grow back. Increase supervision until feathers return and pecking issues are resolved.
Parasites
Mites, lice, fleas, and other external parasites can cause irritation, discomfort, and feather loss in chickens. These tiny pests nibble on feathers, skin, and scales. The itching and inflammation makes chickens rub against surfaces and scratch themselves raw. They may self-mutilate by plucking out their own feathers. This can start with the easily reachable feathers on the belly before spreading.
Look around the feather shafts for black pepper-like droppings and parasites that crawl. Treat pest infestations promptly with sprays, powders, or dusts. Get rid of litter, trash, and other things that wild birds can use to get to hiding places. Maintain clean, dry coops and bedding. Rotate pest control monthly to break parasite life cycles. Improving nutrition also boosts the chickens’ natural immunity against reinfestation.
Nutritional Deficiencies
Inadequate nutrition can affect feather quality and growth. Protein, amino acids, calcium, and vitamins are some of the most important nutrients for follicle health. Deficiencies make feathers weak, thin, discolored, or stunted. Chickens can easily break feather shafts or pick out all of their feathers. This malnutrition can cause bald patches anywhere, including the belly.
Provide a complete, balanced diet with 16-20% protein and proper calcium-phosphorus ratio. Feed high-quality commercial feed or properly formulated homemade feed. Supplement with vitamins, antioxidants, omega fatty acids, and amino acids. Leafy greens, sprouted grains, mealworms, and kitchen scraps also boost nutrition.
Free choice oyster shell and calcium supplements are essential for egg layers. Support nutrient absorption with probiotics and digestive enzymes. Eliminate competition at feeders and use narrow, vertical feeders to prevent waste. This comprehensive diet and nutritional approach reduces bald spots caused by deficiencies.
Molting While Broody, Pecked, or Infested
The common causes of chicken baldness rarely occur in isolation. For example, parasites and pecking often strike while the chicken is already stressed by concurrent molting. Or a broody hen might be pecked due to low mobility. Concurrent issues result in exaggerated feather loss and prolonged recovery.
Address all underlying problems simultaneously for the best outcome. Rotating pest control, removing aggressive flock mates, discouraging brooding, and boosting nutrition helps the chicken or hen recover. Monitor them closely until the new feathers fill in the bald patches. Separate housing may be necessary if they need protection during recovery.
When to Seek Veterinary Care
While many causes of bald spots in chickens resolve with some TLC, it’s important to rule out any contagious underlying illness. Seek veterinary care if the chicken shows additional symptoms like lethargy, appetite loss, diarrhea, or respiratory issues. Report any suspicious or unexplained feather loss to your vet as well.
Bald areas that bleed, scab, ooze, or appear infected also require medical treatment. Usually a topical antibacterial spray or ointment resolves minor wounds. But your vet may prescribe oral or injectable medication for bacterial infections. Isolate the sick chicken to prevent disease spread.
With attentive care and prompt treatment of any problems, your chicken’s new plumage should fill out the bald patches in a matter of weeks. But don’t let them ruffle your feathers—their nude underside is rarely due to serious issues. Just stay vigilant for other symptoms and get veterinary assistance if needed. Soon your chicken will once again by fully feathered from head to toe!
Causes of Feather Loss
One of the most common causes of missing feathers is due to molting. Molting occurs once a year in mature birds 16 months and older. Every year, usually in the fall, chickens molt, which means they lose all of their feathers from their head to the rest of their bodies. Because regrowing new feathers places great demands on a chicken, egg production greatly decreases or ceases all together while molting. Molting can take anywhere from 4 to 12 weeks or more.
Feather loss can occur anywhere on a chicken. Paying attention to where feathers are missing can sometimes indicate what is wrong. Feathers missing on the head can be caused by molting, lice or aggression from other chickens. Broody hens will peck at their chest feathers. Random bald spots could be from parasites, bullies within the flock, or the chicken pecking its own feathers. If you notice that the vent area is missing feathers, there could be numerous reasons – mites, lice, worms, self-pecking, being bullied, or the hen could be egg bound. If feathers are missing near wings of the back of the hens neck, this is probably caused by the rooster during mating.
In order to minimize feather loss, you need to understand why chickens lose feathers. In some cases, chickens may actually be pecking at their own feathers or they may be pecked by other chickens in the flock. Pecking is actually instinctive to chickens. They are curious creatures and explore by means of pecking. Chickens usually peck at items that catch their attention such as shiny objects or moving bugs. Chickens who live in too close quarters may become bored and start pecking each other. This occurs more often in the winter when they find themselves spending a lot of time in the hen house. To avoid overcrowding, plan for each chicken to have approximately 10 square feet of space.
There is a pecking order in every hen house. Hens determine their order within the flock by pecking one another. There are some bullies who will continuously peck at other chickens even after the hierarchy has been established. Chickens are attracted to the color red. When a chicken is hurt and bleeding, other birds in the flock may peck at the red blood, hurting the chicken badly. Injured chickens need to be moved away immediately from the flock for their safety. Over-mating can also lead to hen pecking. To eliminate this problem, a flock should have eight or more hens to one rooster. You can also purchase a poultry block, which allows the pecking to occur elsewhere.
If your chickens seem to be pecking at their own feathers, this may be a symptom of external parasites. Mites and fleas, common parasites, live in the cracks and crevices of the chicken coop near roosts and inside nesting boxes. At night, they suck the chickens blood and irritate their skin which leads to pecking at these sensitive spots. Lice can also be a nuisance. Lice eat dead skin and other debris such as feather quill casings where the feathers meet the skin which causes itching and a burning sensation. Chickens try to combat the discomfort by feather pecking. Monthly inspections of each chicken within the flock can help identify parasites. Another cause for pecking is worms. If you suspect worms, see your veterinarian for a diagnosis and treatment.
Is there anything that can help chickens grow their feathers back? While you cant speed up the natural process, there are some things that you can do to create the best environment for your flock:
- Keep your chickens’ living space in good shape by cleaning the coop, roost, and nesting boxes often.
- Give them protein—Make sure your chickens eat a lot of protein foods. Give treats high in protein, like meal worms and sunflower seeds, but not too much.
- Don’t let your chickens get bored. Keep them happy and busy so they don’t start to peck at each other. Free-ranging while being watched and a cabbage piñata can keep them from focusing on each other.
- Give them a dust bath—In their run area, give your chickens a place to dust bathe. Dust bathing is a natural way for chickens to clean their feathers and get rid of annoying parasites.
- Take out a chicken that has been pecked. If a chicken is missing feathers and being pecked by other chickens in the flock, it needs to be taken out to a different living area until its feathers grow back.
In most cases, you should be able to determine the reason for feather loss in your flock. If you have more questions, you can call or visit your local Southern States store to get help.
Treating Feather Loss In Chickens
It can be a bit unsettling when you notice one or more of your chickens are missing feathers. There can be many reasons for it. We have some helpful tips for understanding why your chickens may be losing feathers and solutions you can try to remedy the problem.
Chickens Molting Or Something Else? 9 REASONS Chickens LOSE Feathers And What To Do About It!
FAQ
Why is my chicken losing feathers underneath?
“… missing feathers?” Lack of food, molting, feather picking, and pests and parasites are just a few of the things that can cause feather loss.
Why is my chicken’s bottom bald?
…that the vent area is missing feathers, there are many possible reasons, such as mites, lice, worms, self-pecking, being picked on, or the hen could be egg bound.
Why has my chicken got a bare bottom?
This is not necessarily due to illness. Every year, a couple of my best layers lose their neck feathers and go bare near their vents. Hens like these didn’t make feathers because it takes a lot of protein and energy, so they laid eggs instead. It is perfectly normal.
What are two signs of unhealthy chickens?
- Posture changes (Fluffed up, necks tucked in, body appears more compact drooping wings, tail tucked down)
- Backends caked with droppings.
- Chickens who aren’t active, stay hidden or away from the group, or move around slowly.
- Red or inflamed skin
- Loss of feathers (not including the fall molt)