One bird lost her saddle feathers.

[JanKuziel]

Hi! I'm Jan and while I'm not new I am new to posting.

I have 3 hens and only one of them has lost alot of her saddle feathers back in summer. They were growing back slowly but today I notice she's lost them all again. I do not see signs of lice or mites and neither of the other 2 are having any issues. I do not see her being pecked so I'm at a loss as to what this can be. And with nights getting much cooler I'm concerned about her bare back. These are my first chickens so I'm not sure what to do about this. I've looked up mites and lice and I don't see those on her. But wouldn't the others also be affected by them if she had them? Help. lol

 

[MrFluffyandGirls]

Do you have a rooster with her?

 

[JanKuziel]

Do you have a rooster with her?

No I only have the 3 hens.

 

[MrFluffyandGirls]

No I only have the 3 hens.

Pictures? Have you checked for parasites? Is it possible she's molting?

 

[21hens-incharge]

Dominant hens will mount other hens to maintain the flock hierarchy.

It is a dominance thing in all female flocks.

 

[JanKuziel]

Pictures? Have you checked for parasites? Is it possible she's molting?

Well I looked for any kinds of parasites and I’m not seeing anything obvious. I thought she was molting back in summer but they aren’t even a year old so could that happen twice to one under a year? Also I don’t see the feathers in the coop or run. It’s so strange.

 

[JanKuziel]

Dominant hens will mount other hens to maintain the flock hierarchy.

It is a dominance thing in all female flocks.

I guess it could be but I’ve never seen anything that makes me think that. There are 2 sex linked and one bantam hen. They all 3 get along pretty well. I’ll watch them more carefully but what can I do to help her feathers grow before it gets cold? It’s a big bare spot and barely covered by the surrounding feathers.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can you please post some photos

 

[21hens-incharge]

I guess it could be but I’ve never seen anything that makes me think that. There are 2 sex linked and one bantam hen. They all 3 get along pretty well. I’ll watch them more carefully but what can I do to help her feathers grow before it gets cold? It’s a big bare spot and barely covered by the surrounding feathers.

I agree we need pics.

Is it a BSL or the bantam missing feathers?
A hen saddle can protect the area allowing feather growth. Depending on roost set up there could also be night time picking going on.

 

[JanKuziel]

Can you please post some photos

I’ll try