Back Feathers, have flown the coop! *groan at the pun*

[9_OddHens]

Hi Folks- I have 39 hens, but this is regarding my original flock of 9:

2 of them were missing all of their back feathers.. & 3 (are still) missing feathers from the 'elbows' and 2 (are still missing) from the back of their heads.

-The new hens are not pecking at the older girls; they were bald before the babies arrived....
-None of it is from mating (no roosters here anymore. We're now a 'girls only' club)...
-I'm thinking its from pecking/bulling.. though I haven't seen anything out of their usual "get off my lawn!" kind of stuff...
-I put saddles on the two bare backed girls 1st week of August, and the feathers grew back on ONE of them, but the other girl is still almost as bald as a babies butt, with maybe 1 or 2 pin feather shafts sticking straight up. The poor girl looks ridiculous without her dress on.... well, she looks ridiculous with it on too, but that's not the point...

I'm in Manitoba and winter is coming; our temperatures can get down colder than -30c... do you think a saddle be good enough protection on her back?
Has anyone else experienced over-pecking to the point of permanent baldness?

Any input is greatly appreciated

 

[Kiki]

Welcome to BYC!
Can you get a few pictures of the birds?

 

[9_OddHens]

Hi! Thanks for the welcome...
I ran out and grabbed a few pix (wind was in my favor too, it caused a wardrobe malfunction at just the right time lol)

 

[RainbowHen]

Have you checked for mites or lice? What do you feed them?

 

[9_OddHens]

Yup.. We're mite & lice free. They are free run, and have full access to water, layer ration crumble & grit/oyster shells at all times.
They get additional vitamins & protein supplemented every morning in their wide erray of breakfast goodies (dried garden herbs, occasional cans of salmon, dry oats, blah blah blah)
I'm at a loss

 

[RainbowHen]

How long have you had them? How old are they?

 

[9_OddHens]

How long have you had them? How old are they?

The white hens are 1 yo.
Got them as hatchlings last summer. I received a surprise cockeral at the same time... He grew into a complete jerk and stressed everyone out. He's no longer with us.
He was the initial cause for the bald heads, but he's been gone since early April.
The girls got alot if sun this summer, could that have caused a follical issue?

 

[Roses1421]

Oh poor girl! That is an adoable flock by the way! Did you sew the saddle? Because if you sew them maybe you can sew a saddle for the winter. Sort of like a jackey I guess. It looks like it could have been from bulling or even mites. But you already checked for mites so it couldn't be that.
I hope you figure out what it was from. And good luck!

 

[RainbowHen]

The white hens are 1 yo.
Got them as hatchlings last summer. I received a surprise cockeral at the same time... He grew into a complete jerk and stressed everyone out. He's no longer with us.
He was the initial cause for the bald heads, but he's been gone since early April.

Oh alright. I understand. They may not regain feathers until they molt. I had a hen, that was bald when I got her, and she was bald FOREVER. Then in the fall she molted and "poof" she had feathers again.

 

[9_OddHens]

Oh alright. I understand. They may not regain feathers until they molt. I had a hen, that was bald when I got her, and she was bald FOREVER. Then in the fall she molted and "poof" she had feathers again.

Phew!
Okay, I'll try to patiently wait for the *poof* thanks for the replies!