Bare saddle feathers

[Tattersail]

I just found that 3 of my 14 chickens have bare backs. It looks like their saddle feathers were plucked out. That's the only spot affected. No other signs of trauma.I have no roosters that I can attribute this to. I haven't seen any overt signs of bullying but could this be it? They look healthy otherwise and have no issues mingling.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

I would suspect feather mites and/or feather eating. Chickens usually eat feathers because of boredom or because they don’t have enough protein in their diet.

 

[Tattersail]

I would suspect feather mites and/or feather eating. Chickens usually eat feathers because of boredom or because they don’t have enough protein in their diet.

Thanks! They get plenty of protein and I've not seen any mites. I guess I'll have to find a way to stimulate their chicken brains...

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Thanks! They get plenty of protein and I've not seen any mites. I guess I'll have to find a way to stimulate their chicken brains...

How big is your coop? What do you feed them?

 

[Tattersail]

The coop itself is 7x6 feet and they have an attached enclosed run that is 7x10 feet. They're on the Kalmbach layer feed with 17% protein and some treats (mainly meal worms) occasionally.

 

[Stravager]

You can try stringing up some treats like fruits or cereal above their heads so they have to jump for them, tree branches to climb and hop on, a chicken swing...

 

[rosemarythyme]

Do they free range at all? 70 sq ft is about half the space a flock of 14 standard birds need so if that is the only space they're given, boredom/crowding stress is a likely cause.

 

[Tattersail]

My apologies, they actually have a total space of 7 feet by 16 feet (112 square feet).
No free ranging unfortunately. I would love to be able to free range we have a lot of predators in the area. That and I worry they'll run into the woods and won't find their way back..
I already have a head of cabbage in the run. Some boredom buster toys are on the way and I'm hoping these will help.
Thank you for everyone's input!

 

[rosemarythyme]

My apologies, they actually have a total space of 7 feet by 16 feet (112 square feet).

I already have a head of cabbage in the run. Some boredom buster toys are on the way and I'm hoping these will help.

Unfortunately that's still on the low side, the minimum recommendation is 10 sq ft per bird (and that may be too low for many flocks) and you're at 8 per. Some flocks may tolerate that but since you have feather picking issues it's likely part of the problem.

Boredom busters will help but you need space for those - https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/page-6#post-25037140 Adding food or treats as enrichment is only a temporary measure and may dilute down their nutritional intake if offered all the time.

 

[Tattersail]

Thanks, I'll work on it