Is this molting or a parasite?

[graychix]

4 of my 5 chickens have this going on. It looks sort of ... crusty/fuzzy. They have been molting but I thought we were nearing the end of it. I examined them and don’t see any skin irritation or obvious mites or lice, and there are definitely pinfeathers in there, but none of my hens have looked like this in the past.

 

[staceyj]

Do you have a rooster?
Overmating can do that.

 

[graychix]

No rooster. Just 5 hens. They are acting pretty normal, eating etc.

 

[staceyj]

A mystery to me.
Is the one who
Still has her back feathers a bully? Could she be picking at the others?
Are they getting enough protein in their diet?

These are all the ideas I can come up with!
Hopefully someone will have a better idea.

 

[Mosey2003]

If you don't have a male, I'm gonna go with feather picking. Add good quality protein.

 

[aart]

If you don't have a male, I'm gonna go with feather picking. Add good quality protein.

Ditto Dat^^^

Have had this on various birds...never figured it out, pecking-self pecking even, and/or just brittle feathers.
Could be feather shaft mites, impossible to see and hard to treat.

 

[staceyj]

@aart If the op had the products available (poultry dust or pyrethrin spray) it would be interesting to see if treating the birds and coop makes any difference.

Would those treatments help with feather shaft mites?

 

[aart]

Would those treatments help with feather shaft mites?

From what I've read....topicals do not work as they are inside the feather shaft.
There's not much good info on them tho.
Here's some photos:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...es-nothing-works.1256486/page-3#post-20162786