Feathers missing, neck and top of head. Bullying?

[JuniperGreen]

Hi!

I have three chickens, two easter eggers (red and black) and one Olive Egger (grey).

My red EE is a cross beak. From the middle of winter I noticed she was losing feathers on her neck. Our chicken vet was coming for beak trims at the time, noticed the feather loss, but couldn't tell me why it was happening (she also checks them for mites when she visits).

I told her "maybe" it was due to her eating wet food that we make her (due to her cross beak) and "maybe" it was freezing her feathers and causing them to fall out. There's not really much getting around the wet food, it's the easiest for her to eat, and I tried "cleaning" her face after but it is still moist so really no difference.

Anyways, a month or so after, I noticed she's also lost some feathers on the top of her head, symetrical bald spots. The vet came again, said it looks like it could be normal molting. Though it hasn't really grown in since that started.

Now, within the last week/half, I noticed my other EE (black) looks extremely ragged. She's also lost feathers on her neck and top of head in the same spots.

I checked them for mites, and see nothing. They don't get any exposure to outside birds, not even bird poop can get in.

Could this be our Olive egger bullying the other two?? We never ever see them fight or peck each other, but she's the only one without any feather loss.

If it's bullying, is it really cruel to make her sleep outside the coop at night? (the run is completely safe) Cause I think this would be the only time she's doing it since I don't see it during the day. I saw online some ointment called No peck. Does this work, or is there any other homemade alternatives?

I want to try and rule out some possibilities before calling the vet again, since it is expensive, and it'll be easier for her to figure it out if some things have already been ruled out.

Thanks, sorry for the long post.

 

[coach723]

Sometimes no peck ointment works, sometimes it doesn't. Depends on the bird. It also tends to be sticky, so....
Is it possible for you to rearrange your roosts, to give them more space and more options? Sometimes that will take care of the problem. Some birds like to snuggle, some demand space. When feather picking is going on, overcrowding and boredom are the most common causes.
If what I can see in your pictures is the run, I would not consider that a safe overnight space. Chicken wire is designed to keep chickens in, not keep predators out. Many predators can tear right through chicken wire in no time. If it were 1/2 inch hardware cloth instead, it would be much more predator safe.