molting, pecking or what?

[andythegirl]

hi chicken friends—

i discovered some raw skin on my 7 month old copper maran yesterday. does this look like a molt? pecking? disease? other ideas? these are the first chickens we are raising, so we are learning along the way

we have a small flock of 3— all 7 month hens- 2 copper marans and a bantam ameraucana. they're in a run most of the day (we have hawks as close neighbors) but they get an hour or 2 free range time a day when we can be outside with them.

i attached some pictures—would love some insight.

thank you

 

[coach723]

How much space do they have in the coop and the run? Looks like either feather picking, or possibly from rubbing on something, like sticking their head through wire/fence to get something on the other side. If it's feather picking then most often it caused by not enough space or by boredom. Do some observing to see if you can find out what is going on.
7 months is young to molt and with molt you will find pinfeathers coming in somewhere.
https://www.wideopenpets.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-molting-chickens/