Chicken Is Loosing Feathers On Its Back

[Marlene Bravo]

Fall just started and my chickens started laying less and their feathers started falling off. Wanted to know if it was normal and if there was anything I could do to help them gain more protein. I have 6 chickens and 1 is loosing all the feathers off her back, none of my chickens lost them as bad as she did.

 

[coach723]

If they are molting then laying will taper off or stop while they grow new feathers. Fall is generally when they molt, though it can happen any time. If there are pin feathers coming in then it's a molt. Some chickens molt very gradually and except for seeing lots of feathers laying around it's almost not noticeable. Others will lose lots of feathers at once (called a hard molt) and have bare patches or look mostly bald. It appears she has pin feathers coming in on her back, hard to tell in the picture. Do you have a rooster? That area is also a common area for feather loss from rooster damage. I would check them all over to look for pin feathers coming in, usually most obvious around the head/neck, under wings and around the tail/vent area. Handle them gently, molting can be uncomfortable for them.

 

[Marlene Bravo]

If they are molting then laying will taper off or stop while they grow new feathers. Fall is generally when they molt, though it can happen any time. If there are pin feathers coming in then it's a molt. Some chickens molt very gradually and except for seeing lots of feathers laying around it's almost not noticeable. Others will lose lots of feathers at once (called a hard molt) and have bare patches or look mostly bald. It appears she has pin feathers coming in on her back, hard to tell in the picture. Do you have a rooster? That area is also a common area for feather loss from rooster damage. I would check them all over to look for pin feathers coming in, usually most obvious around the head/neck, under wings and around the tail/vent area. Handle them gently, molting can be uncomfortable for them.

Thank you and yes I definitely see pin feathers. We have no roosters just the hens.