Bare spots near tail, frayed feathers

[colospgs]

Looking for cause/treatment/other for the following condition I noticed on two of my five hens. The Partridge Rock has frayed feathers near the tail (whiteish instead of the normal brown/black) the Barred Rock's feathers are not frayed. They both have bare spots in the same areas near the tail. First noticed 5 days ago. See Pictures. The PR's area might look purple because I sprayed some Farnam Wound Kote on it. I didn't see any mites near the BR's vent. I also have 2 BOs and one EE, they seem fine. The two affected hens are less that 1 year old. The three others are less than 2YO. All have unlimited access to layer feed, with a small handful of mealworms twice a week for them to share.

Coop from Tractor supply with home built run. Run floor was plain dirt, but about 7-8 weeks ago I dug it out about 3-4 inches and filled it with wood chips. I attached an old picture of the setup so you can see the size.

What's going on here? Anything serious?

 

[coach723]

Most likely it's feather picking, and may be happening on the roosts at night. The most common cause is overcrowding. I think that you really need to give them more space. In the run for sure, and maybe in the coop. Some birds like to snuggle up close to each other, and some demand more space. It also helps a lot for them to have enough space that they can get away from each other when needed. Sometimes redoing the roost layout can help at night, if you have room to do that, so they can be more spread out. Just like people, they have preferences and some birds they prefer over others. They tend to group themselves generationally, so no surprise that they two younger ones are taking the brunt. The feathers may not fill in until they molt. I really think space is your main issue. When you make it larger I would also add another feeder and waterer, so the higher ranking birds can't guard them and keep the lower ranking birds away.