Loss of feathers?

[aelizabeth]

I'm new to chickens, and my 1 y/o EE hen is losing the feathers on the middle of her back.. is she molting or is this something else?

 

[dawg53]

I looked at your pics and I believe your rooster might be the culpret,due to mating with your hen. If this is the case,I recommend you buy chicken saddles for your hens,they protect your hens backs from the roos toenails. Most importantly though, I'd thoroughly inspect all your chickens for lice and mites first, where your EE hen is missing feathers and on and around your all hens'/roos vent areas. The third thing is that your EE hen is one year old and it's about time for her to molt. It could be a mini molt taking place or maybe a full blown molt. In any molt, egg laying stops til their feathers grow back. When in molt,it's stressful for the chickens and I recommend feeding probiotics ie...plain yogurt mixed with some scrambled or boiled egg mixed as a mash in their feed.