Is this what moulting looks like?

[chickenlips]

I have 3 SLW hens who are 16 months old and all three seem to be losing the feathers where their tail feathers meet their backs. One hen has a completely bare patch about the size of a silver dollar. Is this normal? I don't see any bugs on the girls and my 5 other hens don't seem to be affected. Any suggestions on how to treat it or what is causing it?

 

[Frozen Feathers]

Do you have a rooster??

 

[chickenlips]

I do have a 4 month old banty roo in with them now, but this problem started about a month ago. He's only been in with them for 5 days and hadn't started any roo action until today...and it wasn't with the SLW. Apparently he prefers blonds (Buff Rock)!!! LOL!

 

[SpottedCrow]

The other birds could be pulling them out...Obelisk has turned Penny into a naked neck.

 

[chickenlips]

Is there any way to get the other hens to stop pulling them out? They have plenty of room in their coop and yard, so it's not an issue of not enough room per chicken.

 

[Arklady]

You can feed them some game bird starter ration with their layer ration. Or you can suppliment 3x a week with dog food or cat food. Personally I recommend game bird starter ration over the other pet foods. Don't do it too much. But when the feathers come back then cut back to once a week.

Arklady

 

[chickenlips]

Thank you, Arklady! I'll give it a try.

 

[FamilyOfChickens]

The same thing happened with my Americaunas, but they're basically all growing back now...And we have 2 roos.

 

[chickenlips]

Thank you to everyone for your suggestions! I picked up some game bird starter today and mixed it in with they layer crumbles. The girls went right for it! Hopefully that will take care of the problem. I'll keep you posted.