Missing feathers

[AmberT]

I have 6 hens no roosters and a few months ago 4 out of the 6 hen have bald spots on their backs the one that is on top is the worst of it all and one of the hens has no feathers on her butt. I have been putting rooster booster peck no more on their backs and the one hen that has no feathers on her butt. I am also giving them a mealworm and beetle treat combo. My cousin thinks it has something to do with the gnats at night and I live in mass. What should I do so their feathers can come back. P.S they always sit like this in the coop this is the first I have gotten a picture of them like this

 

[nuthatched]

How big is the coop for how many birds?
What's their diet?
Have you checked for parasites?

 

[AmberT]

How big is the coop for how many birds?
What's their diet?
Have you checked for parasites?

Its a coop I bought from Tractor supply it is suppose to hold 6 chickens. I feed them the purina layer pearls only no human food. I have done exams on all of them and I have not seen any parasites my cousin thinks its a gnat issue he has never had chickens, he lives with my aunt and my chickens are on her property because my landlord wont allow me to have my chickens on the property I live on, so he sees my chickens everyday and thinks it could be a gnat
Issue during the night

 

[Ridgerunner]

That link takes me to Tractor Supply, not to the coop you have. What are the dimensions of the coop you have in feet or can you give us a link to the coop you have.

Most coops advertise they can hold a lot more chickens than they actually can for us. They use sizes that work in commercial operations where they may have 5,000 chickens in the same coop but those "per square feet" numbers do not work for 6 hens.

That looks like feather pecking. Overcrowding is a major cause of that. Insufficient protein may occasionally contribute. Good questions from Nuthatched.

The parasites I'd most be concerned about would be roost mites. These hide in the coop during the day and only come out at night. You have to use a flashlight and quickly look in the vent area to see them as they run from the light. I guess gnats could gather at the vent or face looking for moisture and contribute to the pecking but I'd be surprised if this caused it.

It's a shame you are not there to observe them yourself so you can see when it happens but I'd really suspect overcrowding.

Good luck!

 

[nuthatched]

Its a coop I bought from Tractor supply it is suppose to hold 6 chickens. I feed them the purina layer pearls only no human food. I have done exams on all of them and I have not seen any parasites my cousin thinks its a gnat issue he has never had chickens, he lives with my aunt and my chickens are on her property because my landlord wont allow me to have my chickens on the property I live on, so he sees my chickens everyday and thinks it could be a gnat
Issue during the night

The coop is the issue. The manufacturer of coop uses industrial space parameters which are much too small. In reality, a "6 chicken " coop can only hold two comfortably.
I would try feeding a higher protein feed and extending the run and coop area if possible.