hen with a dirty pink bottom!

[mygirlsmum]

Hi, new to the forum and hoping someone can give me a bit of advice.
We have three hens, so just keep them as pets and egg layers. They have the run of a large garden for the day, are fed on layers pellets- and some kitchen treats.
One of my girls has a tendancy to have a dirty bottom. I wormed them using flubenvet in July. Until recently I have left her alone as she is a happy little soul and I just thought her personal hygeine was a little lacking. However a couple of weeks ago I gave her a bath and a bit of a trim to remove the excess dried poo stuck to her feathers. She was fine, not in any discomfort at all, but I discovered that she is rather pink. I checked her over and found a small area on her chest that is bald and pink, about 1" in diameter. Her eggs have also now become softer shelled, just at one end, sometimes breaking and getting eaten. This last week the other two hens have made a nice little hollow in some leaves in which they have decided to lay their eggs. Dirty Bottom still lays hers in the nesting box. Am I fussing too much as she really does not seem ill or out of sorts at all?

 

[podstable]

I'm sure the trim and wash will help ,maybe a wash with something like dilute Hibiscrub,when dry some Vaseline,Sudocreme or other barrier cream may help protect the sore area. Just wonder if she's scratchy from mites or lice--could explain red bald areas and the others wanting to lay outside house??

 

[mygirlsmum]

Thanks, I sprinkled red mite powder in their bed when I cleaned them out last weekend, but someone has suggested hanging them upside down to dust the hens themselves. I was going to have a go tomorrow. But I hadn't thought of that as a reason to lay outside. It had never occured to me to use something like vaseline, I will give her another bath tomorrow and check her out for bugs! Thanks again.