Losing Feathers

[chickenbh1999]

About 6 of my girls look like this and i was wondering whats wrong and what should i do? Or are they molting and i need to be patient

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! Do you have a rooster? It looks like rooster damage, and/or you have a feather plucker. You might try hen saddles if it is a rooster, if you don't want to separate them. There is a nice article in the learning center on dealing with bullys/ feather pluckers,https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/bullying-behavior-in-chickens pinless peepers are another thing to consider if the first suggestions don't work

 

[chickenbh1999]

Should i try blue kote

 

[drumstick diva]

Yes, you can try blue kote but, feather peckers will probably continue to do so. If it is rooster damage maybe you can keep the roos away from them till they heal. A rooster can handle 10 hens and if there are too few hens, or too many roosters, that is what happens to their backs. The hens get overbred and damaged.

Welcome to Backyard chickens. Hens will continue to lay eggs without a rooster around, they just will not have "fertile" eggs that can be hatched.

 

[N F C]

Welcome to BYC!

I agree with drumstick diva and Kelsie...that looks more like rooster or feather plucking damage. In this link you'll see a few photos of what moulting looks like:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/15751/can-someone-post-a-pictures-of-their-hen-moulting

When they moult, you'll see feathers scattered all over (like someone had a feather pillow fight, lol) and egg laying slows way down or even stops. Just as an example, when our beautiful EE went through her first hard moult, she had feathers missing from all over her body (not just 1 bare spot) and she didn't lay for about 6 weeks. And wow, was she one crabby girls! Normally she's pretty easy going but she definitely was feeling irritable while moulting.

Good luck to you and hope your birds recover soon!

 

[sunflour]

I agree that doesn't look like typical molts. Although it does look like the black chicken is getting feather pins back in the naked area. And likely is feather picking if not an aggressive rooster.

Blue note will help but won't stop this. Look at who doesn't have the feather loss and you can find out who it is. IMO this is quite aggressive picking.

Consider those saddles. Make sure the flock has enough space and add a flock block or something to occupy them. The long thread on feather picking about the peepers suggests an aggressive picker will continue to pick and peck anyway. If you cannot stop it consider giving the aggressor away.

Wishing you success in the solution.

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[rainbowhatchery]

breeding rooster