Hens with Broken Back Feathers and Bare Above Tail

[sunnysideohio]

We recently (about a month ago) had a mite infestation and did a full dip of all birds and coop clean out and spray with Elector PSP. This Rhode Island looked the same then as she does now. Some broken feathers and a bare spot.
It does not seem to be getting better.
It does not seem to be getting worse.
The Wellsummer with her has a similar but smaller affected area.

What am I looking at here?
Was it probably from the mites?
Will she heal over time?
Could she have something else? Could it spread?

Most other birds look terrific, like they could all go out to prom tonight and paint the town red.

 

[coach723]

That looks like rooster damage. Those two are most likely favorites, more submissive, and getting more attention. In the absence of a rooster, sometimes a dominant hen will do mounting behavior also. On the red one it appears she's missing feathers on her head behind the comb, where he hangs on with his beak. Feathers probably won't grow back until they molt. If you have a roo, keeping his nails and spurs trimmed can help prevent injuries, a sharp spur can do a lot of damage if he slips while mounting. If needed, a hen saddle can be used to help protect the back. You can purchase those or make your own. How many hens, and how many roo's do you have, and ages? In general 10 to 1 is a good starting ratio, so that hens don't get too beat up. Some roo's may do better with slightly more hens, and some may be ok with slightly less, just depends on the roo. If he's young, under a year, then a cockerel and they are all raging hormones and can be very rough and rude.

 

[sunnysideohio]

That looks like rooster damage. Those two are most likely favorites, more submissive, and getting more attention. In the absence of a rooster, sometimes a dominant hen will do mounting behavior also. On the red one it appears she's missing feathers on her head behind the comb, where he hangs on with his beak. Feathers probably won't grow back until they molt. If you have a roo, keeping his nails and spurs trimmed can help prevent injuries, a sharp spur can do a lot of damage if he slips while mounting. If needed, a hen saddle can be used to help protect the back. You can purchase those or make your own. How many hens, and how many roo's do you have, and ages? In general 10 to 1 is a good starting ratio, so that hens don't get too beat up. Some roo's may do better with slightly more hens, and some may be ok with slightly less, just depends on the roo. If he's young, under a year, then a cockerel and they are all raging hormones and can be very rough and rude.

Thanks so much for the reply!

We now have 1 roo to 17 hens, though we previously had 2 roosters for the same 17 hens. Planning to keep just the one rooster, as we do want to have chicks now and again.

The current rooster is just 1 year old, hatched this time last year.

Is it likely they will heal over time or we'll just need to wait until they molt?

 

[coach723]

The feathers probably won't grow back until they molt, but sometimes it happens sooner, hard to predict. If there are any actual wounds to skin, those I would treat. Clean them well and apply a plain triple antibiotic ointment. If the roo is causing too much damage, you might need to separate him.