Broody chicken or something more?

[HollyHens]

Hello, I’ve got 5 ex batt. hens and we used to get around 4 eggs a day until around 2 weeks ago. I’ve noticed now their feathers look picked and we’ve had no eggs lately. I’ve looked for nests outside egg boxes and there are none. More worryingly one has extremely red and bald chest- is this a broody or is it worse? I’ve looked for mites and there are none.

 

[RcoM]

Hello, I’ve got 5 ex batt. hens and we used to get around 4 eggs a day until around 2 weeks ago. I’ve noticed now their feathers look picked and we’ve had no eggs lately. I’ve looked for nests outside egg boxes and there are none. More worryingly one has extremely red and bald chest- is this a broody or is it worse? I’ve looked for mites and there are none.

Do they need more protein? Feather picking could be boredom or protein deficit or lack of good food in general? This reduces egg laying. Is it a maybe an autumn/winter moult?

Mites aren't always visible. Look at night with a torch and put sticky tape on their roost. Or try bathing one and see what comes out in the water. If broody, other behaviours have to match Broodiness or pre-broodiness or it's not that.

 

[Ridgerunner]

My guess is that they are molting and have stopped laying until after the molt is complete. Could you please post a photo of the entire chicken, not just a close-up, so we can better see what it looks like.

I'm not sure why it is so red, maybe sunburn? What do they roost on? Something rough?

 

[McChooky]

Looks like the feathers have been pulled out or broken off.You would see your chickens scratching if they have mites. Feather mites are hard to see with the naked eye and difficult to treat.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Not likely for ex-battery hens to go broody, is it? And it seems odd they would be sunburnt on their bellies, although that does look irritated. Almost like an allergy. Very strange.

ETA are those pin feathers? New feathers coming in?

 

[McChooky]

Not likely for ex-battery hens to go broody, is it? And it seems odd they would be sunburnt on their bellies, although that does look irritated. Almost like an allergy. Very strange.

ETA are those pin feathers? New feathers coming in?

I didn't see any new feather shafts.

 

[McChooky]

The only time I've seen anything that looked like this was on a rooster that had chicken mites years ago but there are other causes. Dermatitis can be caused by something in the environment or something they've eaten or drank, "Scald" causes the skin to become inflamed from poop and wet bedding,'Bullying' from from other chickens will break feathers and pecking can cause the skin to become irritated and 'Internal infections causes red skin