My poor chickens

[Countrylady16]

Hello! I need some serious help. I have 18 hens. No roosters. I got them all as babies in February. They just started laying eggs. In this last week, I have 6 hens who all have bald spots on their back near their tail Feathers! Some are scabby and bleeding. Please help. I have no idea what’s wrong or why this is happening

 

[black_cat]

@Eggcessive ? @Wyorp Rock ? I don't know how to help but that doesn't look good, hopefully someone will be able to help!

 

[Show Sebright]

Wow poor girls, looks like pecking or mites. I suggest to watch them for a whole day and see if they peck or chase each other. Aldo at night go in the coop and check the roost for mite. They will be red. And for the bald spots clean then and apply some Neosporin.

 

[Eggcessive]

From the broken off feathers, I would say that at least one other hen is picking feathers. Do you see any feathers in the coop or run? This can be from over crowding, boredom from not getting outside to roam, or from a lack of protein in the diet. What do you feed them? I would use a 20% flockraiser feed for awhile, and make sure they have 4 square feet of room in their coop, plus 10 SF of room in their run. Getting outside to roam can help. Pin tar is an old remedy that can be applied to the bare skin to help prevent pecking, but if any of those causes are possible, you might want to start there.