Mysterious feather loss in RIRs and one Black Sexlink

[CarolineSpark]

Can anyone help figure out what's going on and what to do about it, please?

I have 16 chickens. One in particular, a Rhode Island Red, 1 yr and 3 months old, has been losing feathers for about 6 months.

First I noticed it on her neck under her beak, then expanding down and spreading on either side of her neck and on her undercarriage (not visible until turned over - but now quite naked there)

The skin appears reddish and aggravated.

The pin feathers don’t seem to be growing back

At first I thought it was molt but now it is clearly not.

I have never seen any plucking - either by the chicken herself or by other chickens.

There are sometimes one or two feathers under the roost in the morning when we clean the dropping boards, but nothing very obvious.

Several close inspections showed no sign of mites or lice.

Spraying with Vitrisine didn’t help.

This problem has also begun to happen in several other RIRs and one Black Sexlink

All are the same age, all were purchased from a hatchery.

It is not happening in all of these hens but is gradually spreading to most of them.

It is not our older hens, who were hatched and raised by a local farmer, before coming to me at about 6 months.

All the chickens appear healthy otherwise - poop is normal eating well, active, bright-eyed etc.

Coop is 8x8 sq ft, plenty of roosting space; The coop is divided in two because some of the RIRs are aggressive to a couple of our other gentler chickens. The two groups each have their own yard 12x12 or so, and two free range periods each day in a meadow. dropping boards below roots, pine shavings on the floor, straw in nesting boxes (4 for each group)

They eat Payback pellets, with limited treats - mealworms, fresh kale, watermelon, occasionally yoghurt, corncobs, other fruit, sunflower heads etc.

Pictures of two of the chickens are attached. the black sexlink also has a strange swollen area on her breast bone where she is losing feathers (pictured)

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Looks like the loss under the neck is due to plucking unless you see her scratching at herself a lot.

Is he crop emptying overnight?
What is your roosting bar made of, any rough spots?

I would watch the girls during roosting at night, you might find that a neighbor is plucking out feathers.
If you wish, treat them with a permethrin based poultry spray or dust to eliminate lice/mites.

 

[CarolineSpark]

Thank you Wyorp Rock! yes her crop empties and the others' crops (the other hens with smaller bare spots) too. They all seem very healthy otherwise.
Roosting bar is pressure treated 2x4 - same as we have had for several years with no issues

I brought the chicken with the most feather loss inside the other night - slept in the same room with her, she was in a dog crate, so I could listen to or watch what she did during the night. Around 2am, a little rhythmic repetitive scratchy "tk tk" sound came from the crate. Of course when I put the light on it stopped and she looked at me all innocent - but then resumed after a while when i put the light off again. No feathers found on floor of the crate in the morning. But from the sound I would guess she is plucking and eating the feathers and/or pulling out any new growth. Her skin is red and sore looking under her throat though it doesn't seem to bother her in the day. I never see any of them worrying bare spots in the day and never see any of the other hens going for them either.

I am going with the self-plucking theory at this point. I know there is a bunch of info on this somewhere on this site so will track it down. Looking to a) prevent with some kind of deterrent so she can heal b) address cause more protein? mites - even though i can't see any?

Thanks for the spray/dust suggestion.

Any other suggestions welcome!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

But from the sound I would guess she is plucking and eating the feathers and/or pulling out any new growth. Her skin is red and sore looking under her throat though it doesn't seem to bother her in the day.

I am going with the self-plucking theory at this point. I know there is a bunch of info on this somewhere on this site so will track it down. Looking to a) prevent with some kind of deterrent so she can heal b) address cause more protein? mites - even though i can't see any?

Interesting! Nice that you brought her in for observation.
If she's plucking at her own feathers and eating them, then yes, I would increase her protein. A little egg, meat or fish can be added daily or you can give her a higher protein feed like chick starter/all flock/flock raiser.

If the bare places are irritated, you can spray those with Vetericyn or even dab on a little coconut oil to sooth them.
Permethrin will take care of lice/mites that you can see (certain mites only come out at night and are very tiny). If she happens to have something like Depluming (Feather) mites that live in the feather shaft, then something like Ivermectin would be better, but I don't necessarily see the stripped out feathers on the wings like most see with Depluming mites and you aren't seeing her dig at herself during the day - reportedly Depluming mites are so bothersome that the bird really does nothing but preen and pick at themselves, so I would try the Permethrin and tweak the diet first.

 

[CarolineSpark]

Thank you! I will try your suggestions on her and the others who are less bare but have the same problem.