HELP!! Feather picking or molting or...?

[Thousand Oaks Family]

I recently purchased 3 chickens over a month ago. One I was told was in molt. The worst part of her being around her vent. She had another spot on her front and another on the back of her kneck. The front areas are starting to fill in but the vent area is terrible and doesn't look like any feathers coming in. Now I am starting to notice one of the other hens looking a little out of sorts and just today I saw a bare spot below her vent. Is this feather picking? What can I do about it? By the way my girls freaked out when I took the camara into the run. They hid in the coop! Very strange.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Mine seen to panic when I have something in my hand that they are not used to, even something as small as a camera. Normal behavior for them.

I tend to think it is feather picking but am not sure. It does not sound like a molt to me. Molting just does not normally progress that way and these areas are the ones that feather picking tends to affect. These links may help you determine what is going on. Good luck!

Mississippi State describes molting
http://msucares.com/poultry/management/poultry_feathers.html

Kansas State feather loss
http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/library/lvstk2/mf2308.pdf