Losing feathers

[jandsblack49]

Our chickens and rooster are about 9months old (born in April 2013) and I noticed about 2weeks ago one of our Golden sexlink girls had feathers missing right behind her comb and then this morning she now has them missing around her wings. The rooster this weekend has them missing around his chest, and one of our barred rocks has them now missing around her comb. A Americana has them missing on her neck and back. We have a total of 8 hens and 1 rooster, is it common for them to start losing feathers in January? All the rest of the girls seem fine, they are all acting normal and havent seen anything out of the ordinary, I have looked for mites/lice and haven't noticed any either. They are eating and drinking. Should I be concerned? Or is there anything i should watch out for?

 

[Alaskan]

I would wonder if your chickens are picking at each other. That would be my first guess. The way to fix that is:
1. More space
2. More things to do
3. If you have a light on, turn it off

As to mites/lice they are very difficult to see, and some kinds live on the perches or in the nest boxes, not on the birds. Look for small black to dark brown tiny spots/freckles on the skin of the birds and at the base of the feather shafts.

edited to add:

one more reason for feather picking is a vitamin/mineral deficiency or a protein deficiency.

 

[gander007]

I would wonder if your chickens are picking at each other. That would be my first guess. The way to fix that is:
1. More space
2. More things to do
3. If you have a light on, turn it off

As to mites/lice they are very difficult to see, and some kinds live on the perches or in the nest boxes, not on the birds. Look for small black to dark brown tiny spots/freckles on the skin of the birds and at the base of the feather shafts.

A BIG X2

That just about sums it up in a nut shell