Feathers missing and getting worse?

[shirlynn]

I have only hens no roosters about 60 , several of my hens are looking terrible, they have lost most of their feathers around their tail and also around their neck. I noticed one yesterday that wasn't coming to the feed trays...and I looked at her rear end and she looks like she is losing her insides? What can be causing this? The hens are around 3.5 yrs old. Thank you for any suggestions!

 

[kelar]

The one hen could be prolapsed - I'd check on here for threads addressing that problem The rest of them could well be infested with mites and/or lice which you will want to address immediately.

 

[Blue_Myst]

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They could all be going through a molt, but you might want to consider checking for lice and mites, just to make sure. Lice tend to cluster around the vent area or on the chest, and you'll be able to see them fairly easily. Mites you may have to wait until it's pitch dark and they're roosting--bring a flashlight out and you can see them crawling around near or on the chickens.

Your hen very well could be prolapsing. There are lots of helpful threads--there are at least several cases a week on BYC, and you'll definitely find the information you need in any of those threads.

Best of luck! Keep us posted!