Missing feathers just in front of the tail, Lice?

[drezac10]

 

[LaynaDon95]

That looks like feather loss from the rooster mating her too often. She will start to get sores if this is left alone and they can get infected. Very rarely is this fatal, but it's painful for the hen. I would get her an apron. I recently ordered 3 from Tess on this site here and they are super cheap, speedy shipping. I have had a problem with them staying put on one of my hens. It always flips up on her. They work great on my other hens, just not her. I have no idea why. But I would absolutely buy from her again. It was a wonderful experience. They are great quality. I would recommend the wing protectors. Even though she doesn't need them now, with the apron on the rooster will switch to using her wings to grab onto when he mates her, and she will start to lost wing feathers like mine did. It makes them really scrawny.

 

[LaynaDon95]

Also, is that a welsummer? She is gorgeous.

 

[drezac10]

This one belongs to my aunt, I am not sure of all the breeds that she has, but she has around 10 hens and I am pretty sure no roos, all of the hens have this same feather loss. Very confusing.

 

[NovaAman]

Wonder if they've got a hen acting as a rooster... If its lice, you'll be able to tell. Pick up a bird and examine the feather shafts.

 

[zenhen]

If you find feathers in the cage, then they/she could be pulling them out. especially if it is hot outside. If you have chicken lice you will see white eggs near where the skin and the feather meet on the feather. the chicken lice eat dead skin and feathers but usually after consuming the feather all you see left is the quill usually. mites would probably make the feathers fall out too because of stress. if you are not finding feathers it is probably chicken lice.

 

[growyourbrew]

It looks to me that it is being pecked on by other chickens. I too recommend a chicken apron.
I had a number of hens that were pecked like that and came up with a better apron design which requires no washing (just hose it down). It is one-piece so there are no elastics to wear out and no clasps and fabric patterns that can get pecked at. Because no sewing is involved, I can offer it much cheaper than anyone else I've seen on the market: $2.50 shipped for 1 apron. Cheaper if you buy more ($10 for 10 shipped). You can order at growyourbrew.com or on ebay but I have to charge more on ebay because of the fees.