Hens with missing feathers

[Starface33]

Hello, I'm pretty new! Anyway, this is my first year with chickens and we bought 7 ten month old hens, 4 barred rocks and 3 rhode island reds. The kid selling them was going away to college and had to get rid of them. They all look healthy and are laying like crazy! BUT When I got them some of them were missing feathers on their butts, the owner claimed it was from a not so nice roo some feathers have come back but one particular hen not much has regrown her skin looks red and unhappy :-( How long would it take to regrow feathers or should I be worried about parasites or something else? Also, with 7 hens how many eggs should i be getting? I get about a dozen every other day is that normal? Thanks soooo much! Sorry if any of my questions are stupid I'm new lol

 

[Judy]

The number of eggs sounds good to me. Their cycle is supposed to be about 25 hours. A hen should lay a little later each day til she lays late in the day, then she should skip a day and start over in the morning, as they should not lay at night. Obviously, they are individuals, and lots of things can affect laying. Also, they will likely lay less in winter, related to shorter days, and they may slow down in hot weather as well. They will usually quit for a while when they molt, and if one goes broody she will stop laying.

The missing feathers on their back ends is a bit more bothersome, and there are a lot of possible causes. It should not be from molting unless you see a lot of feather shafts coming in. Rooster damage is usually most obvious on the top of their backs -- in the middle of their back, kind of where a waist would be, not on their butt. Unless he was pulling their butt feathers, of course.

Probably the most likely causes of bare butts are others picking feathers, and lice / mites. First thing I'd do is check carefully, at night with help if possible, for lice / mites (see link below.) Feather picking could be because they need more protein or because they were feeling stressed, from overcrowding or any of a number of things. Since they're already doing better, I wonder if they were too crowded where they were, or are just more comfortable now. But they could still have some lice or mites; they are not uncommon, they are carried by wild birds and can just be dropped onto them. I sprinkle a little Sevin on the coop litter and in their nests now and then.

http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0018.html

 

[Starface33]

there is mostly missing feathers right at the base of the tail on their backs and on the sides next to and under their tail feathers. What is Sevin? I'm sorry im so new to this!