My wife and I picked up our 8-9 week old hens up 2 days ago, and also got a rooster of the same age. All are Golden Comet sex-links of the same age. We have a coop built into a corner of the barn with outdoor access. The coop is basically 8 by 8 feet. I'm in the barn quite a lot, so am trying to get to know our chickens. My wife comes out a couple times a day. They appear to be quite comfortable and active, but here is the problem. We have 8 hens and a rooster and yesterday I noticed that maybe 3 of the hens had spots on their backs just above the tail feathers that were bare of feathers. As I watched them I noticed one of the hens would peck, those and assume thats the cause. This is our 1st time with chickens, and was wondering if this is normal pecking order behavior? The hen in question seems to be the most active and aggressive. Thanks...
Normally the bare spot on the back above the is from the rooster mating. Your chickens seem a little young for that. If its the hens pulling feathers, you may have to take steps to stop it. Using compounds like pickno more, blu-kote, or separation of the guilty party, or pinless peepers. Just watch them for a while, they may stop down once they get the pecking order settled.
I have 10 and 11 month old hens no roosters. I was seeing a similar feather loss in mine. I went out late one night and saw a mouse hop off the back of my hen in the worst shape. The mice had found a way into my coop and were chewing my hens up pretty bad. The hens then would continue to pick at the bare spots. Perhaps set some traps outside of the coop but still in the barn and see what you get. I was at my wits end trying to figure out what in the world was going on since I had some odd feather loss. I have an EE with no beard and a bare belly as well as nipped feathers all over. My Black Austrolorp has no feathers on her legs just above the knee and a bare belly. Mice can do a lot of damage I have found. The only space they could squeeze into was under the pop door. I have changed it to a sliding door in a track.
