Feathers look brittle, unhealthy

[NH_Chicks_And_Guineas]

Hello all,
We've had some some and the birds haven't been out for awhile. It's there first winter. Today I noticed their back feathers look brittle and unhealthy. I've included some pictures. I'm hoping someone has an explanation as to why. The birds were super healthy looking before the cold and the snow. Thank you in advance for the wisdom.

 

[Mrs. K]

Feather eating mites?

 

[Cryss]

Molting is my guess in which case you have nothing to worry about.

Other than that I need some information. How many chickens do you have? How many square feet is their coop walk about floor space not including nest area? How many square feet of run area do they have? Overcrowding can cause them to peck and pull each other's feathers out of cramped boredom. This can lead to bullying or even death. With some information we can better assess and help you fix it if it needs fixing.

 

[Folly's place]

Also, at night when they are roosting, check the skin around their vents, neck, and under their wings for mites or lice, and treat all of them and the coop if any are found.
As mentioned, pictures, coop dimensions, number of birds, and diet.
Mary

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hello all,
We've had some some and the birds haven't been out for awhile. It's there first winter. Today I noticed their back feathers look brittle and unhealthy. I've included some pictures. I'm hoping someone has an explanation as to why. The birds were super healthy looking before the cold and the snow. Thank you in advance for the wisdom. View attachment 1978552 View attachment 1978553 View attachment 1978554

I'm assuming you mean you've have some snow? So the birds are all "cooped up" for winter and not going outside correct?
Hard to see what's inside the housing, but the flooring/bedding looks packed down.
If you can provide them with a couple of tubs of loose material - say a mixture of sand, ash, dirt, etc. for dust bathing that may be helpful.

How much space do you have inside your coop? Looks like the feather could be nipped a bit, you may have some boredom going on. Scatter a bit of scratch in the bedding to keep them busy or you can hang up some fresh greens/veggies for them to pick at.
Looking them all over for lice/mites is a good idea as well.

If possible, scatter some straw over the snow outside, they may venture out and on sunny days.