One hen died and two others have same symptoms

[Dpamarillo]

We had a single hen with severe feather loss on her bottom and back where her tail meets. This was even though the winter. Nothing helped and she one afternoon died. She had quickly developed a large sore on her back. Now two others are showing the same signs. I’ve cleaned the entire coop and didn’t find any signs of mites or lice. I would hate for this to continue to spread but have no idea what it is.

Her back by the tail

Her bottom below her vent

Back of her head

 

[OneHappyDuckie]

Do you have any roosters? It looks like feather loss from over mating, or it could be you have a chicken plucking feathers from the others, which can happen when they need more protein.

I don't think that would cause their death, though. Did they have any wounds or injuries? Any abnormal symptoms before dying?

 

[Dpamarillo]

Do you have any roosters? It looks like feather loss from over mating, or it could be you have a chicken plucking feathers from the others, which can happen when they need more protein.

I don't think that would cause their death, though. Did they have any wounds or injuries? Any abnormal symptoms before dying?

We do have a rooster and after the first one died I separated him from the hens, but since the other two started with similar signs. The one that died had a wound that developed in less than a day. She looked rough but didn’t have any signs of being out of the ordinary.

 

[OneHappyDuckie]

We do have a rooster and after the first one died I separated him from the hens, but since the other two started with similar signs. The one that died had a wound that developed in less than a day. She looked rough but didn’t have any signs of being out of the ordinary.

Did it look like the wound was from a predator? Losing feathers certainly shouldn't cause them to die. Any lethargy or sluggishness? Were they laying eggs normally?

 

[SilverBirds]

Looks like rooster damage, but have you checked for lice/mites?

 

[OneHappyDuckie]

Looks like rooster damage, but have you checked for lice/mites?

I’ve cleaned the entire coop and didn’t find any signs of mites or lice.