Hen's Loosing Feathers Around Tail

[kcampbell453]

I have 4 GC's and 1 Arucauna that I've noticed are loosing feathers around the base of their tails. I also have 2 barred rock hens that don't seem to be having this problem. I've checked all of them for any signs of mites or other pests and don't see any. This appears as if "somehen" is pecking at them. We got rid of our Rooster about a month ago (which came in the same hatching batch as the other Barred Rocks) and I'm wondering if one of the Barred Rock hens is now taking the place of the Roo and pecking at the other hens. Any thoughts??

 

[realsis]

It could be possible. Sometimes they eat the feathers in search of extra protein. Or sometimes it's just out of boredom. You can try hanging a cabbage in their run for something to keep them busy. This might help if they are feather picking out of boredom. Also you might want to check your coop to rule out the red mite which does not live on the bird but lives in the coop and is nocturnal.it will feed on the bird at night. They say to help see them put a white price of paper in the coop and come out late at night and see if any are crawling on the paper. The white back ground helps you see the mites better. I'd check these things and I hope this helps. Best wishes