I have five chickens and one of them has a bald spot on her lower back, (just where the tail feathers start to grow), of an area of 1" x 2". The coop is 6' x 4' and the always accessible run is 6' x 12'. I recently added a horse, (one of those things that you use to hold up wood when you are sawing--I think they're called horses), and even more recently, a large broken tree branch for some enrichment. I read the article that someone posted in jnetster's post about feather loss and can't seem to relate to any of the suggested causes: we don't have rooster issues since we don't have a rooster; since everyone eats the same kind of food and no one else is losing feathers I don't think this is a food issue; there are things to do in a large area of space do I don't think boredom or overcrowding is a problem; lastly, this is my biggest chicken who is losing feathers so I don't think she is being bullied. The only issue I'm not sure about is mites. I frequently lay a lot of DE in the pine and when I go looking for insects, I don't find them in the litter. HOWEVER, I have on a couple occaisions, seen some of those nasty squirmy blackish/brownish creepy, pincer-bearing insects scurrying in the holes of the cinder block that holds up the waterer. Could they be the problem?
I'm a first-timer and don't want to do something wrong that hurts my chickens!!!
I'm a first-timer and don't want to do something wrong that hurts my chickens!!!
