- Feb 21, 2011
- 13
- 3
- 77
My year and a half old hens have stopped roosting. They have been on the roost every night for a long time. I am in Texas; we have had some chilly nights. When it is down in the 30's I turn on the heat lamp and close the door to keep them warm. (They can still go out thru the small chicken opening) I am concerned about them being warm because so many do not have all their feathers. All have bare bottoms and several have bare backs; one has a bare neck, another is bare under her wings. I am not sure this is molting because this loss of feathers has been going on since early spring. I have seen them pulling our feathers and eating them. During the summer 8-9 of them would sit on the top roost with 1-2 on the lower bar, and this was in hot weather! I am really at a loss as to why 3-4 of them want to sleep on the ground inside the coop. Any ideas about the change in roosting habits or the feather pulling would be greatly appreciated.