EE cockerel's bird feathers gone- he has bald neck

[Tiranni]

My handsome EE cockerel has lost his beard seemingly overnight. He's 7 months old, very active, and is acting normal.

Is it possibly mites, or molting? Or is he maybe getting picked on? We do have an older EE/leghorn mix rooster, but they get along well and make a good team protecting their girls.

Here is what he normally looks like:

And here is what he looks like now:

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[DobieLover]

My handsome EE cockerel has lost his beard seemingly overnight. He's 7 months old, very active, and is acting normal.

Is it possibly mites, or molting? Or is he maybe getting picked on? We do have an older EE/leghorn mix rooster, but they get along well and make a good team protecting their girls.

Here is what he normally looks like:
View attachment 2016172

And here is what he looks like now:
View attachment 2016173
View attachment 2016174
View attachment 2016179

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

It's quite possible that one or more pullets/hens plucked his beard out.
I actually caught one of my EE pullets plucking the beard out of my black Ameraucana cockerel on my coop cam. He just stood there and let her do it.

 

[Tiranni]

It's quite possible that one or more pullets/hens plucked his beard out.
I actually caught one of my EE pullets plucking the beard out of my black Ameraucana cockerel on my coop cam. He just stood there and let her do it.

Silly birds! I wonder if that's not what is happening? One of my other hens is picking feathers off the back of my other EE until it's raw. We've been treating it with a homemade version of Blu kote, which seems to be helping. So now I'm wondering if it is a bully hen or if they are missing something from their diet...

 

[Tiranni]

It's quite possible that one or more pullets/hens plucked his beard out.
I actually caught one of my EE pullets plucking the beard out of my black Ameraucana cockerel on my coop cam. He just stood there and let her do it.

OH and I really wish I had a coop cam. I've been begging my hubby to get me one. Lol

 

[DobieLover]

Silly birds! I wonder if that's not what is happening? One of my other hens is picking feathers off the back of my other EE until it's raw. We've been treating it with a homemade version of Blu kote, which seems to be helping. So now I'm wondering if it is a bully hen or if they are missing something from their diet...

What are you feeding them?

 

[Tiranni]

What are you feeding them?

Layer crumble from Nature's Choice. They get cracked corn, left over greens, apples, or raw oats for treats.

 

[Tiranni]

Layer crumble from Nature's Choice. They get cracked corn, left over greens, apples, or raw oats for treats.

I forgot to mention that we are in Minnesota. We've had a wicked cold snap that just let up, so I'm wondering if it's picking from boredom. They do not like to come out of the coop when it's cold.

 

[sourland]

My gut says feather pecking due to boredom. If things get worse do an on site search on Pin Less Peepers. They can help break this bad habit.