Feather loss in my chickens is getting bad. What is the cause?

[Featheredchickens]

Hello! I am new to this forum and after treating for mites/lice with no success, I've become embarrassed with the situation of my chickens. I thought I would come here for help. This has been going on for a little over a month now. My girls are missing feathers on their backs, heads, and some around their vents and crops. I don't see any feathers lying around the coop which makes me assume they are eating them. We have treated with permethrin dust once for bugs after finding a lice/mite on one of the chickens, but I'm starting to think it might've just been a stray bug because we haven't found anymore.

We have laying hens and bantams. The bantams show the least amount of damage (just some missing on their backs) while the newer (1 year old) laying hens are in much worse shape. We have two leghorns that are about 6 now and they are only missing feathers on their backs as well. About half of our layers are black (not sure what breed) and they are a lot more beat up than the rest. (See the slightly graphic photos of two of our black ones that we had to quickly throw into our old pen because we wanted to treat their skin specifically).

 

[Tookie]

I looks like feather picking to me, not lice or mites.
Do you see them pick out their own feathers or do you ever see any bullying going on?
What do they eat?

 

[nuthatched]

Looks like picking, what's they're diet and space like?
and possible microscopic depluming mites, you might need a stronger mite product.

 

[Featheredchickens]

I looks like feather picking to me, not lice or mites.
Do you see them pick out their own feathers or do you ever see any bullying going on?
What do they eat?

I haven't seen them pick out any feathers, but I also haven't had much time to sit down and watch them for a long period of time. They had been getting a mix of 16% protein layer pellets and scratch grain, but I realized this may be a problem and bought 16% layer crumbles and 20% chick starter today to mix and up their protein intake.

 

[Tookie]

I haven't seen them pick out any feathers, but I also haven't had much time to sit down and watch them for a long period of time. They had been getting a mix of 16% protein layer pellets and scratch grain, but I realized this may be a problem and bought 16% layer crumbles and 20% chick starter today to mix and up their protein intake.

That was a good idea! I'd keep mixing those two feeds, and I'd also completely stop giving scratch grains and any treats you've been giving them other than their feed.

 

[Featheredchickens]

Looks like picking, what's they're diet and space like?
and possible microscopic depluming mites, you might need a stronger mite product.

I just answered about diet through another comment. They have a large coop built into the main barn and a run that could probably be larger, but it isn't ridiculously small. Would you maybe recommend permethrin spray as a stronger treatment for possible mites?

 

[nuthatched]

I just answered about diet through another comment. They have a large coop built into the main barn and a run that could probably be larger, but it isn't ridiculously small. Would you maybe recommend permethrin spray as a stronger treatment for possible mites?

Ok, it will take a while for the picking to stop and they won't get new feathers until they molt.
For depluming mites, I believe you use ivermectin though how are you applying the permethrine dust?