My hens are losing their feathers and it isn't molting

[Ssuzanne425]

I brought one of my hens to my vet, who works with chickens and she said the hen may be being picked on by my rooster. Now I put the rooster in a separate, smaller coop near the flock, but other hens are now showing signs of the loss of feathers, usually in the back and neck area. Any ideas as to what is going on? I am so sad and scared they are getting hurt!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I brought one of my hens to my vet, who works with chickens and she said the hen may be being picked on by my rooster. Now I put the rooster in a separate, smaller coop near the flock, but other hens are now showing signs of the loss of feathers, usually in the back and neck area. Any ideas as to what is going on? I am so sad and scared they are getting hurt!

Hi @Ssuzanne425 Welcome To BYC
Can you post some photos of your hens and the feather loss so we have a better idea of what you are seeing?

How many hens do you have?
What type of food/treats do you feed?
How much space do they have (sqft of coop/run)?

 

[Lady_anar]

My chicks are losing features, too. No idea what is going on!

 

[Ssuzanne425]

Hi @Ssuzanne425 Welcome To BYC
Can you post some photos of your hens and the feather loss so we have a better idea of what you are seeing?

How many hens do you have?
What type of food/treats do you feed?
How much space do they have (sqft of coop/run)?

I will post pictures tomorrow when they are awake. I have 7 hens and a rooster. I feed them organic feed with some oregano and red pepper flakes mixed in. They have a run that is about 15 feet long by 8 feet wide. Thank you for helping - pictures coming tomorrow.

 

[chkva]

 

[Ssuzanne425]

Here are my pictures. There are three different hens and the one with the bare back is the one I am most worried about. Any thoughts?

 

[Ssuzanne425]

Hi @Ssuzanne425 Welcome To BYC
Can you post some photos of your hens and the feather loss so we have a better idea of what you are seeing?

How many hens do you have?
What type of food/treats do you feed?
How much space do they have (sqft of coop/run)?

Hi there,
I just posted the pictures. Thank you for your thoughts!

 

[AmyJane725]

What makes you say it's not molting?
That much feather loss looks like a hard molt to me (but I'm very inexperienced, so I was just curious why you think it's not.)

 

[Wyorp Rock]

she said the hen may be being picked on by my rooster. Now I put the rooster in a separate, smaller coop near the flock, but other hens are now showing signs of the loss of feathers, usually in the back and neck area.

Do you only have one rooster?

That's not molting, that is feather damage from mating and possibly picking as well.
The feathers are broken with the shafts intact, they will not be replaced until the hens go through a molt.

I would look them over for lice/mites as well and observe the hens behavior toward one another to see if they are nipping at one another's feathers as well.

 

[AmyJane725]

Do you only have one rooster?

That's not molting, that is feather damage from mating and possibly picking as well.
The feathers are broken with the shafts intact, they will not be replaced until the hens go through a molt.

I would look them over for lice/mites as well and observe the hens behavior toward one another to see if they are nipping at one another's feathers as well.

View attachment 1774742

Sorry. Wasn't trying to be dumb. Just trying to learn how to tell the difference between different things. I was doing some reading on molting last night and the big empty patches looked like some of the pictures I saw. When it was said that the other hens started losing feathers after the rooster had been removed I figured it wasn't an overmating thing and maybe it was just molting.

Would hens that aren't overcrowded really pick each other that badly? Gosh.