Are my hens moulting properly?

[hjenkings]

I have been worried about 2 of our hens. We only have 3 and are quite new to this. I think one of them is getting broody as she keeps laying on the eggs and breaking them. She is losing a lot of feathers between her legs (really couldn’t get a picture) the area looks extremely red and I can’t see pin feathers. Is it possible she is over cleaning when she gets egg on her and is therefore pulling her own feathers out? They are just over a year old now so if this is a moult it would be her first. Once you take away the eggs she will happily leave the nesting box. Another of our hens is losing feathers on her chest and belly and again a lot of the area is very red and I’m not certain I can see pin feathers. I will include the photos I’ve managed to get of her but I need help! I can’t see any bullying going on but obviously I can’t watch them 24/7! I don’t believe it is mites as their house is cleaned regularly and we use sanitising powder and mite powder plus they have a few drops of mite treatment in their water once a week. In case it’s boredom I have introduced some hanging food skewers and food play balls as well as a hanging feed block. I’m really worried I’m missing something obvious. Any advice greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[Friendly_Lurker]

They may be eating each other's feathers because they are lacking protein. Try giving them layer pellets with a higher percentage of protein, 18-20%. If you are in the Northern Hemisphere, they are not molting because chickens only molt in the fall or when under stress. They may also need something to do. Try hanging up a cabbage they have to jump up to eat.

 

[azygous]

Could you post photos of the products you use for mites and sanitizing with closeups of the label ingredients? They may be causing skin irritation and causing more problems than they solve.

Mites live deep in crevices in your coop and come out only at night to feed on the chickens. So you need to check at night by shining a light on the roosts and legs of the chickens. You can wipe the perch with a damp white cloth and see if it has red smears indicating the presence of mites.

Are you in the northern hemisphere? If so, it's not too likely the chickens are molting.

 

[hjenkings]

They may be eating each other's feathers because they are lacking protein. Try giving them layer pellets with a higher percentage of protein, 18-20%. If you are in the Northern Hemisphere, they are not molting because chickens only molt in the fall or when under stress. They may also need something to do. Try hanging up a cabbage they have to jump up to eat.

Hi thanks for getting back to me. They currently are on 18% protein feed. Plus being given mealworms. I’m in England so not sure if they should be moulting now?! I have a hanging skewer we put lettuce, apples, pears, cucumber etc on. Plus food toys to stop boredom plus logs to climb on in the run. I have just found them all bathing in dry dirt quite vigorously. I managed to get a few pics (not great tho) of Glitter’s belly. I will add them now

 

[hjenkings]

Could you post photos of the products you use for mites and sanitizing with closeups of the label ingredients? They may be causing skin irritation and causing more problems than they solve.

Mites live deep in crevices in your coop and come out only at night to feed on the chickens. So you need to check at night by shining a light on the roosts and legs of the chickens. You can wipe the perch with a damp white cloth and see if it has red smears indicating the presence of mites.

Are you in the northern hemisphere? If so, it's not too likely the chickens are molting.

Pictures of the cleaning products

 

[azygous]

Another possibility for the skin irritation and feather loss on the underparts could be rough perches that are rubbing feathers and skin. You might want to run your hand over them to see how rough they are. Also, improper size perches can cause this.

 

[azygous]

It would help if you would tell us the ingredients in those two products since my Google searches haven't turned up info on that.

UK is in the northern hemisphere so your chickens are not likely molting.

 

[hjenkings]

It would help if you would tell us the ingredients in those two products since my Google searches haven't turned up info on that.

UK is in the northern hemisphere so your chickens are not likely molting.

I can’t find ingredients on the sanitising powder!