Help. Missing neck feathers with quills intact

[chickendreams24]

Do you have any rodents in the coop? Move and rats will eat feathers for protein. Keep an eye out if you get rodents it can become a severe problem quickly and they can even turn predatory.

Do you keep feed out all the time? What are you feeding them?

My other guess would be feather picking/pulling or clumsy dominance display by your little cockeral.

 

[Ptrow86]

Do you have any rodents in the coop? Move and rats will eat feathers for protein. Keep an eye out if you get rodents it can become a severe problem quickly and they can even turn predatory.

Do you keep feed out all the time? What are you feeding them?

My other guess would be feather picking/pulling or clumsy dominance display by your little cockeral.

They are on crumble and there is food in the coop over night the majority of the time, but I go to work before they are done roosting and open it back up

 

[chickendreams24]

Feed out constantly is a huge draw to rodents.

Are they roosting at night I'm guessing?

Watch your little cockeral for other boyish behavior I've seen boys about that age start grabbing the girls without knowing why they feel compelled to dominate them. Or you could have a bully in the group.

How much space do they have?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Can you post a photo. Are they the quill or are they emerging pin feathers?

 

[Ptrow86]

Feed out constantly is a huge draw to rodents.

Are they roosting at night I'm guessing?

Watch your little cockeral for other boyish behavior I've seen boys about that age start grabbing the girls without knowing why they feel compelled to dominate them. Or you could have a bully in the group.

How much space do they have?

My run is 660 square feet and my coop is 42 square but it's nine feet tall so there is plenty of roost space. I hope rodents aren't the issue. If so I have to fire my barn cat lol. I wouldn't have thought that young of a rooster could get grabby. Although your explanation makes a lot of sense. Have you ever seen a youngin go after an adult hen?

 

[chickendreams24]

I've seen them go after an adult rooster. Lol the hormones kick in and some of them just go nuts.

Now I am surprised the hen isn't standing up to him if that's what it is. It's hard to say. What's his comb look like can you post a pic?

That's the best way to tell if they're maturing. I've got I think they're 8-9 week olds that are working on their crows. Lol it's all the individual bird and the breed.

About 9 weeks the pecking order seems to really start to kick in and be enforced too so it could have something to do with that also.

It's hard to say.

Pics of the affected feathers would maybe help.

 

[Ptrow86]

I've seen them go after an adult rooster. Lol the hormones kick in and some of them just go nuts.

Now I am surprised the hen isn't standing up to him if that's what it is. It's hard to say. What's his comb look like can you post a pic?

That's the best way to tell if they're maturing. I've got I think they're 8-9 week olds that are working on their crows. Lol it's all the individual bird and the breed.

About 9 weeks the pecking order seems to really start to kick in and be enforced too so it could have something to do with that also.

It's hard to say.

Pics of the affected feathers would maybe help.

So first pic is Rex. Our 9 week old rooster. Second is our polish hen dot missing feathers, she is also 9 weeks. Third is our hen ginger who is older and hasn't laid an egg since the rest came out. Not sure of her age. Fourth is ginger again showing her comb just to see if anyone thinks she's still of egg bearing age

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Those are new feathers growing in. They are encased in a sheath that the chicken will remove when the process is done.

 

[Ptrow86]

Those are new feathers growing in. They are encased in a sheath that the chicken will remove when the process is done.

So there isn't any covert pecking happening? It makes a lot of sense because I've watched them for hours and haven't seen anything of that nature. So my wife blue koted them for no reason? Lol

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

So there isn't any covert pecking happening? It makes a lot of sense because I've watched them for hours and haven't seen anything of that nature. So my wife blue koted them for no reason? Lol

Those quills will turn into nice feathers. I see no signs of pecking. Maybe your wife likes blue chickens? Hopefully she didn't turn her fingers blue too.

Do keep an eye on the polish crest. Sometimes the sight of the skin can attract pecking. You will see blood if there's pecking.