Feather loss pattern

[Alice23]

My hen has gradually been losing feathers on her neck for about 6-12 months. I originally thought they were getting pulled out by my one other hen as I saw her do it once but as it gets more bare I'm not so sure. I don't see her pulling at her feathers enough to explain this (only once) and I spend a decent amount of time watching them. Sometimes her skin is white and other times red & irritated looking. Has anyone seen this before?

 

[chicknmania]

No, but you could try putting some BlueKot or No-Pick on it, and see if that changes anything. I'd say the other hen is still feather pulling, if I had to guess.

 

[azygous]

The mention of red appearing skin irritation ran up a red flag for me. Have you checked both of your hens for feather mites or lice?

If you have mites in the coop, they wouldn't necessarily appear on the chickens during the day, so go out with a flashlight at night and take a look at the roosting perch. As the chickens roost, the mites could be crawling onto the underside of the hens. Inspect your other hen for feather loss in the same area. If you see some feather loss or red skin irritation, even if not to the extent of this hen's, you would do well to treat the premises for mites.

 

[Alice23]

Yes azygous they did have red mites in their coop which was replaced as a result & the birds treated, however that was recently & the feather loss started a long time before that. I haven't looked into feather lice before but I will now. My other hen doesn't have any of these symptoms.
I just noticed that her neck went red after a dustbath so perhaps it's just reacting to the contact.
I'll check for lice and then try the No- Pick if I don't see any. Thanks for your replies!

 

[azygous]

Mites and lice will produce a second generation unless re-treated as a followup a few weeks after the first. And some products are much better than others to prevent recurrence. I recommend a product called Elector PSP. It's highly concentrated and will last a number of years, and usually one treatment is sufficient. It's a bit pricey but works better than others. The Chicken Chick recommends it as do I.

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/08/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification.html