No tails and some bald backs and other spots.

[Hannah J]

My chickens are almost 2 years old and they have had no tails for at least a year and some of them have bald spots not just on the tail but even on the neck area. I have cameras on them so I watch for pecking but never see any and I’ve treated them for mites so I’m not sure what’s going on. I’m getting about 2 eggs a day from six chickens. Today I actually got 4 but that could just be from heat but I didn’t know if that had a role in what’s going on

 

[FarmerGirl101]

Do you have pictures? What are you using to treat them? Is it an all hen flock or do you have roosters?

 

[Hannah J]

I used permethrin. I put it on them once and completely cleaned and powerwashed the coop and put it all in the coop as well. I have an all hen flock

 

[Hannah J]

The one in the picture that does have tail feathers is Aspen

 

[FarmerGirl101]

I would treat again. Use this Garden & Poultry Dust instead to treat them. You may need a two cans of this as at least in my experience, I tended to use quite a bit of it. Apply it on all the birds 2-3 times with 7 days in between. Note, they won't regrow their feathers until the next molt but if you don't notice any new feather loss on any of them then you know it likely worked.

 

[Hannah J]

They have never molted before and one of them hasn’t lost them but 5 have. Wouldn’t that affect all of them if it was mites

 

[FarmerGirl101]

They have never molted before and one of them hasn’t lost them but 5 have. Wouldn’t that affect all of them if it was mites

I'm not concerned about them not having their first adult molt yet. Just that the next molt + lack of additional feathers lost will be telling if you have found the root cause. Also, a higher protein feed is helpful when molting as it provides more protein which they need. Not at first. Mites is usually passed on bird by bird so it isn't as if they will all get mites right away, it needs to migrate between birds. However, having multiple birds with similar feather loss is a good indicator that it is mites and your entire flock should be treated.

 

[Hannah J]

I'm not concerned about them not having their first adult molt yet. Just that the next molt + lack of additional feathers lost will be telling if you have found the root cause. Also, a higher protein feed is helpful when molting as it provides more protein which they need. Not at first. Mites is usually passed on bird by bird so it isn't as if they will all get mites right away, it needs to migrate between birds. However, having multiple birds with similar feather loss is a good indicator that it is mites and your entire flock should be treated.

Ok. Does that affect their egg laying and Aspen had lost some feathers but they grew back

 

[FarmerGirl101]

Ok. Does that affect their egg laying and Aspen had lost some feathers but they grew back

What specifically are you asking about in regards to egg laying?

 

[Hannah J]

Does having mites cause them to lay less