Chicken has been missing feathers for over 6 months now and won't regrow

[ciera]

One of our older girls, Elmira, had a rough go with our rooster over 6 months ago.... she quickly became his chosen hen and she was not a fan of that AT ALL. As a result, she ended up with a treading bald spot on her back. We got rid of the rooster immediately after she started showing signs of balding, but almost 7 months later she still has the same exact bald spot, and it's not getting better.

She's since grown a little bit of fuzz over the meat, and there are tiny bumps where it looks like feathers are trying to poke through, but in my opinion it's been far too long that she's been grappling with this bald spot.

A recent development is that she's also started to lose some feathers around her head/comb, which is why I'm alarmed.

We don't have any roosters anymore, and she's the alpha hen in the flock so no one has been pecking on her / bothering her. She has no common "pecking" injuries, and she's not moulting because she isn't missing feathers from any other part of her body, just the same bald spot on her back she's had for months.

I've checked her for mites / lice, but I can't see anything. Additionally, our other 7 chickens all live in the coop together with her and not a single other chicken is moulting / has any feather loss issues, so I'm loathe to assume she has bugs or mites.

She also isn't acting sick at all; she's not lethargic, she eats and drinks well, and she regularly lays an extra large egg for us every day. She's going to be 2 years old this June, so she's not THAT old to be considered a senior chicken, and nothing I can find on the forums or google tell me what this could be. Does anyone here have any thoughts? Have you seen this before? Any tips on what I can do to encourage feather growth? All advice is appreciated!

(PS: She's the black one....obviously with the bald spot!)

 

[sawilliams]

Where are you located? Is it spring or autumn where you are? Did she molt this year? Was her molt before the damage was done?

Sorry i know lots of questions. Here are a few thoughts. I have had multiple first years go through a partial molt and not get some of their feathers back especially the head (or face of ee) it doesn't grow back untill the next molt. Second i had a hen the regularly lost feathers on her neck, they grew in fine at molt but quikly broke off once she started laying and wouldn't grow back untill molt again. Third hens don't grow feathers as well when they are laying becuase of protien requirement. That's part of why typically hens stop laying when they molt (lack of sun too of course).

You can help her by feeding her a starter feed or feather fixer both have higher protien counts then a layer feed but make sure there are oyster shells or done form of calcium on the side. Or high protein treats like scrambled eggs. Also, because I worry about the hot sun, you could look into chicken aprons it protect her back. Otherwise, wait at least untill her next molt for those back feathers to come in.

As for the sudden feather loss on her head? Maybe see if you can find a vet to do a fecal float test to check for worms as that can cuase nutrient deficiency. And regardless of the pecking order watch for pecking issues especially early evening when they go to roost. Again podsibly try a higher protien feed

 

[Eggcessive]

I would wonder if she is not starting her molt. Are there feathers in and around the coop? Usually, you will see oin feathers starting to grow in shortly after feathers are shed. My first year with hens the rooster kept their backs bare. They did not grow back in until the first big molt around 16-18 months. I made some hen saddles for those with the bare backs.