feather loss

[Adamjenzerr]

Is some feather loss normal. I have one that is molting and i noticed today there asre a few feathers from the other hen around the coop, she has not even started laying yet?

 

[Adamjenzerr]

anyone

 

[mshaffer]

I have a lot of feathers around the coop (21 chickens in all). I think part of it is from the roosters pulling them out, but my thought is that it's most likely similar to humans losing hair. You lose and re-grow hair daily. JMO, so anyone please correct me if I am wrong...

 

[Ailurophyle]

I have three young hens that just started laying, two of which are red stars. I had noticed in the last week or so that sometimes I would see one of the red stars pick at the other's back, just before the tail. Today I saw that the picked-on red star has a big bald patch in the vicinity of where the other had been picking at her. I watched them for about ten minutes and witnessed the bully continue to pick at the feathers around the bald patch on the victim. In my case, at least, it's clearly a matter of one (or more) chicken(s) pulling feathers out of a flockmate, and I'll probably need to quarantine the aggressor(s) for a while. In your case it might be a more mundane reason, as suggested by mshaffer. Have you taken a good look at your chickens to see if anyone has bald or bleeding areas?