Leghorns - Missing feathers and stopped laying

[ShelleyBurch]

Long story short, I'm a first time backyard chicken owner. I got 6 Rhode Island Red chicks in April, and 4 of them turned out to be roosters. We had to get rid of them. My dad's friend raises chickens and he gave us 3 white Leghorns. He said they were about 5 months old and had just started laying. They were missing feathers on their backs, but he told me that was because they were being abused by roosters and not to worry about it. He said "that's just normal on a chicken farm". We have had the Leghorns 3 weeks and they were giving 2 eggs almost every day until last Friday when there was only 1 egg, no eggs Saturday, 1 egg Sunday, and no eggs Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday of this week. I'm concerned that there is something wrong with them. There are a lot of white feathers in the run area but I'm not seeing them pecking at each other. They are very skittish and hard to catch (they are not free range), but I got one yesterday and turned it over and it is missing a lot of feathers on her stomach as well as her back. I couldn't catch the others to see, but I'm assuming they are the same. I don't know enough about diseases to know if there is something wrong with the girls or what specifically I should be looking for or what I can do to help them. I do not see any indication that they are eating the eggs. No broken egg shells or egg goo in the nesting boxes. Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Toddrick]

That feather loss doesn't look like it is from a rooster.

 

[ShelleyBurch]

You know, if the guy who gave me the birds hadn't been my dad's friend and wasn't a "seasoned" chicken farmer, I would not have taken these birds. I felt a bit pressured into it since he was doing my dad a favor. The guy is now in the hospital with a broken leg and needs surgery, so I can't really go back to him and ask questions. I'm in a "situation" here...

Any thoughts what's going on with the birds?

 

[Toddrick]

I wonder if he gave you his old hens that were burned out and molting. Are you sure of their age?

 

[ShelleyBurch]

I'm not real sure of anything, just what he told me. He said they were 5 months old and had just started laying.

 

[Weehopper]

I'm thinkin a couple of things may be going on. The rooster may have been too rough on them, and they might have gone into a stress moult. They have apparently gone through some changes recently. Is it hot there too? Anyway, I'd feed them well, be sure they are comfortable on their roost at night, and of course, fresh clean water every day. Keep an eye on the feather situation. Check them now and then to see if the feathers are growing back, or if they are losing more. Keep an eye out for bugs (mites).