Pecking and/or maybe a Mite issue?

[VintopiaFarms]

We have 8 Rhode Island reds who are about 4 weeks old now (as close as I can tell). They are in a brooder that is 4ftx6ft while we finish the coop and run. The backs of the pullets are almost all missing feathers to some degree (aside from one pullet). There are 2 who have blood on the tail feathers and maybe some swelling where the tail feathers grow out from. Please look at pics and give me an idea of how to treat these poor girls?

About 5 days ago, we removed them from the brooder for two nights to give them time to revive a little. They seemed to be doing better for a couple of days after going back with the rest, and then today we saw blood on both of them. I put a little coconut oil and tea tree on the wounds (what I had and put them back in the brooder. Thinking of getting some Peck No More or Blu-Kote?

Thanks for any advice/info you can give to a new chicken mama!

 

[Dovethesilkie]

I don’t see mites on the skin but check around the vent if you suspect mites look on the feathers and check for the eggs at the base of the feathers try vetirycyn ( spellings probably wrong ) on the wounds it helped my hens cuts feel fast i have never tried blue kote

 

[Eggcessive]

Do you have bright light in their brooder? They used to have lower watt red lamps that were helpful to keep the light lower. How high is the brooder? What is the temperature on the floor? Do they have room to jump up and practice roosting on a baby roost or objects? At this age they are establishing their pecking order. What breeds are they? BluKote can help hide wounds, but I wonder if they need more room and lower light? Could they be too hot?

 

[VintopiaFarms]

I don’t see mites on the skin but check around the vent if you suspect mites look on the feathers and check for the eggs at the base of the feathers try vetirycyn ( spellings probably wrong ) on the wounds it helped my hens cuts feel fast i have never tried blue kote

Do you have bright light in their brooder? They used to have lower watt red lamps that were helpful to keep the light lower. How high is the brooder? What is the temperature on the floor? Do they have room to jump up and practice roosting on a baby roost or objects? At this age they are establishing their pecking order. What breeds are they? BluKote can help hide wounds, but I wonder if they need more room and lower light? Could they be too hot?

Thanks for your reply we have non-heat lights in the brooder during the day, but they are on a timer from 8am-7pm. We have a red light heatlamp on them, but can’t say what the temp is on the floor? There is a roost in there and they use it. We made sure it ran almost the length of the brooder so there was enough room for everyone. They are Rhode Island reds. And finally, the brooder is about 24 inches high. They really do have a lot of space, the brooder is 4ft wide, 6ft long and about 2 feet high.

The coop we are building has 80 square feet and a 100 foot long run. it should be ready in about a week, hope that helps this problem some.

 

[VintopiaFarms]

I don’t see mites on the skin but check around the vent if you suspect mites look on the feathers and check for the eggs at the base of the feathers try vetirycyn ( spellings probably wrong ) on the wounds it helped my hens cuts feel fast i have never tried blue kote

I really think it’s a pecking issue, I don’t see indication of mites really either. Once a chicken starts bleeding, it seems everyone gets in on the pecking? Thanks for your reply