My chickens are losing feathers?

[tacoma2]

A lot of my chickens are losing their feathers on their back down towards their tail.
They look like they are dried out and broken off and now one of my favorites is has open wounds on top of the base of her tail.
It's not molt. I was thinking it was the two roosters hittin them too much or just being too rough with them but my wife says my barred rocked are pecking at them.
I have about six buff orps that hardly have any feathers left on their backs.
Any suggestions as how to deal with this?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Sounds like rooster wearing. What's your ratio, hens to roosters?

 

[tacoma2]

Sounds like rooster wearing. What's your ratio, hens to roosters?

I have 2 roosters and 15 hens.

 

[rebrascora]

How old are the birds in question? If they are under a year old it will be mating damage. Young cockerels are very rampant and particularly when there are two of them the same age as they will often competitively mate the same pullet again and again one after the other. The Orps are probably the slowest of your birds and the easiest for the cockerels to catch. It may be that the barred rocks have started pecking at the sores caused by the mating. They will naturally peck at red things and once they taste blood, they can get a bit carried away. Many people use Blu Kote to cover sores or bald patches to disguise the redness and prevent them being targeted.

If the birds are over a year old then it may be a combination of mating damage and moulting.

If you genuinely believe that it is the barred rocks doing the damage then space is usually an issue that causes hens/pullets to turn on each other. Some breeds are more docile than others and need less space. The more active/flighty the bird, the more space they need to be happy and prevent them from developing bad habits like feather pecking, bullying or even egg eating.