moutling, mites, rooster???? HELP!

[devon]

We are new to raising chickens and have run into a problem.

We live in Colorado where it gets fairly cold in the winter. About two months ago our 5 chickens started slowing down egg production (they were born last March) and dwindled to 1-2/week, and now none. They look horrible, with feathers pulled or falling out all over the necks. We just realized that the one chicken who still looks great is the rooster. Is there some connection going on here. Also, our friends who got chickens at the same time are still getting eggs, so it seems like something unique to us.

 

[Ridgerunner]

First, welcome to the forum. Glad you are here.

This site discusses molting.

Mississippi State describes molting
http://msucares.com/poultry/management/poultry_feathers.html

And this one mites and lice.

Ohio State – Mites and Lice
http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0018.html

And these two about stopping egg laying.

Virginia Tech – Stopped Laying
http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/2902/2902-1097/2902-1097.pdf

Florida – Stopped Laying –
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/ps/ps02900.pdf

Hopefully some of these will help you.

It is not unusual for pullets to lay throughout their first winter, although they don't lay as well as they will in the spring. Sometimes, they do just stop laying. After they get through their first winter, you can expect them to really slow down or stop during the winter. As you can see in the links above, there are several reasons for chickens to stop laying. Maybe you will notice something that applies to your situation.

Good luck!!!