Hens lost feathers and are sunburnt

[whitcombkathleen]

Hello, 1st time posting 2nd time with chickens. My 1st time I purchased through Myer's Hatchery. This time I thought it would be neat to hatch from a local person's eggs we purchased. -For my granddaughter.
They had a rooster that was all over the hens and they lost their feathers back in the winter. I kept feeding them purina omega 3 and they laid pretty good, but never got their feathers back and this summer they have burnt their backs from being outside in the sun. About 6 weeks ago I switched to nature's feather feed and put a conditioning bag to each bag of feed. The feathers they have are looking better, but they still don't have new feathers. Some look like they may be coming to the surface and getting ready to come out. I have 14 birds and still get 6-9 eggs a day. There are about 6 birds that have hardly any feathers on them. This is nothing like my 1st set of birds. I want to buy 4 more birds. Should I wait until these get their feathers since they will be eating the same feed? And is there something else I should be doing for the hens to get their feathers back on...before winter. It has been at least 6 months!

 

[Kiki]

Welcome to BYC.
Have you checked them real well for lice and or mites?
Have you seen the girls picking at each others backs?

 

[Chickassan]

They might not come back fully until they molt. You could go ahead and get more birds as long as you're sure the hens aren't feather picking each other or you don't have an insect issue. The higher protein feed won't harm the newbies.

 

[BlueBaby]

If it's only from rooster wear and not some type of parasite, then like @Chickassan mentioned, the feather's might not grow back fully until they molt.

 

[drumstick diva]

It might help if you would post a few pictures to show the extent of their baldness. Hope you will enjoy Backyard chickens as much as we do

 

[007Sean]

Howdy and Welcome to Backyard Chickens.

Thanks for joining our community!

 

[Pork Pie]

Welcome to BYC

This is a useful link of BYC guides to take a look at - https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/website-announcements-feedback-issues-guides.3/?prefix_id=3


You can use this link to contact members in your area - Find your State's thread.

Best wishes

Pork Pie

 

[rjohns39]

Hi again and please do post pics...

 

[N F C]

You've already been given some good advice and things to consider so I'll just say hello and thanks for joining us!

Best wishes

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

Hello! Welcome to our FUNomenal community! Make yourself at home! Best wishes!