Neck feathers are pulled away

---

by Tracy
(Emmett, MI)

Question:

On the back of one of our Rhode Island Reds, her neck feathers are pulled away from the skin.

There are bloody areas around the outside where the feathers meet.

It almost looks like her neck feathers where lifted away, and rolls of skin are there. It seems to be painful for her. Please advice. Thank you.

Answer:
This might be caused by an over zealous rooster or roosters grabbing her neck for breeding. You don’t mention having a rooster with your hens, but most people do.

Other hens can be curious about this wound on her neck and may pick at it making it worse, too.

In order for her neck area to heal you may need to separate her from the flock and treat with a triple antibiotic ointment with pain relief to aid healing, help her feel more comfortable and fight any infection.

If not continually irritated this should heal quickly and you can return her to the flock once the feathers have started to grow in well.