Please help, my girls are loosing their feathers

[Molnut]

I am very perplexed and need help.
I have 48 hens and 3 roosters in a 160 sf coop. They are on rotated pasture all day and go in only at night and to lay.
They also have constant daily access to two large dust bath containers.
My problem is : They are progessively loosing their back and tail feathers.
It starts with the feathers on their lower back seeming to raise.
Then the feathers fell off around the tail or look very worn out.
Then the tail goes. Then they are stumps or nothing.
It does take a couple of months maybe. Some recover, but more and more seem to be getting "it".
So, I have not been sitting on my hands either. Here is what I did:
- I checked for lices on them, cannot see anything.
- I took the roosts off, no red mites in the cracks.
- I emptied the nests (which had DE on the inside) and put fresh bedding. Swiped for telltale of red mites, nothing.
- I increased their protein intake, thinking about protein deficiency. I'm getting bigger eggs, but the feather loss is still going.
I failed to mention thst their laying rate as decreased steadily. I'm getting an average now of about 22 eggs/day out of 48 hens.
They are first year layers. Their breeds are Welsummers and Anconas mostly. I have a few Cuckoo Marans and New Hampshire Reds. The NHR seem to hang in there better , eventhough a few have feather losses as well.
My roosters are 1 Golden Cuckoo Maran 2 years old and 2 Anconas 1 year old (they were surprises).
That's all I can think off. Thank you for reading my long winded explanation. I hope someone can help. I don't know what else to do

 

[GreenbrierChickens]

An 18mo molt is normal, seems like you checked for everything else. You said 1st year layers so it's a possibility.

Hopefully someone comes through with a more solid answer.

 

[Abriana]

Seems like a molt to me! Nothing to worry about.

 

[Molnut]

Thanks for your quick responses. Just to gi e you accurate info, they are only 1 year old.
Also, I had them on a 13 hours light schedule this winter as I have an egg business. I let them rest on year two.
I fazed in the light and was on a regular schedule by end of March.
I really hope it's molting! I hadn't considered this as it seems to be more of a Fall thing.
Thanks again.

 

[drumstick diva]

Maybe too many roosters and too few hens. Sounds like rooster damage

 

[Hyroler]

Maybe too many roosters and too few hens. Sounds like rooster damage

I was going to say samething.If you have rooster that is overly rough he will cause loss of feathers on back and torn up tail feathers.But this usually happens when too many roosters for amount of hens.With only 3 roosters for the amount of hens you have they would have to be seriously horny roosters.

 

[aart]

I increased their protein intake, thinking about protein deficiency. I'm getting bigger eggs, but the feather loss is still going.

What was the protein level...what did you change it to and when did you change it?

Also, I had them on a 13 hours light schedule this winter as I have an egg business.
I fazed in the light and was on a regular schedule by end of March

I found this confusing. What date did you start the light increase, how much and how often did you increase it more?
Supplemental lighting can indeed screw with molting patterns.
Despite the 'they only go in to lay and sleep' you may still be dealing with some crowding stress and/or cockerel competition. Some birds merely have brittle feathering and thus will suffer broken feathers when mated more than others.

 

[Molnut]

Thank you for your interest Aart.
I started artificial lighting in October and increased it weekly by 15 minutes. At about mid December the light would go on at 4. I then started the decrease at 15 minutes interval. It wasn't military precision, but it's pretty close. They had food and water in the coop. I also added some time in the pm to keep about 13 hrs of daylight.
I was ordering my feed with a friend. It is a balanced, organic layer feed. Most of it was 18% protein, with some 16% on rare occasions .
I have now another organic layer feed, which I order and is consistently 18% protein.
I am now fermenting that feed as well. The other feed was given dry with some occasional wet feeding composed of the fines and fermented winter wheat seeds.
In addition they get about twice a week, either hard boiled eggs, sprouted lentils or more rarely, plain cooked meat if we have leftovers.
This is my second new flock and I am still new at this.
I did the same with my first flock, which I still have and is doing well. They did not have supplemental lighting this winter, but did on their first winter. They did loose their bottom feathers in the Spring.
What concerns me here is how it progresses :
The lower back feathers raise up;
then they look brittle and drop off;
then the tail feathers are exposed and the shafts are showing:
My cuckoo Maran is a big, easy going boy (George). He is now totally rumpless. I put some ointment and Vaseline and it seems to help a little, but I have seen hens picking at his "but" during the day time. It's not a focused occupation, but it happens. Another rooster, a 1 year old Ancona, has also missing tail feathers. Did the same for him, it seems to help and the area is much smaller. He is very skittish, so I don't get as many opportunities as with George.
One Welsummer is rumpless now as well. She looks closer to a molt situation as her feathers seem loose and to come off her sides too.
Most of the affected birds, not all are, are in different stages, raised feathers on lower back, little patch of skin showing on top of their back or tail feather shafts showing.
Again, it's a long text. Thank you for your help.

 

[HenniesInMyHeart]

It really does sound like feather trauma due to rough mountings. If it was nutritional or some kind of bug, it wouldn't be so location-specific. Maybe you have one mean roo that is terrorizing his favorite hens and even picking on your other roo? The fact that the issue is localized to the rump is why I am concerned it's an over-mating issue. Some roos are just jerks even if they have plenty of their own hens. Please consider getting them some saddle capes to protect their rumps and give new feathers the opportunity to grow in.

 

[Molnut]

I was going to say samething.If you have rooster that is overly rough he will cause loss of feathers on back and torn up tail feathers.But this usually happens when too many roosters for amount of hens.With only 3 roosters for the amount of hens you have they would have to be seriously horny roosters.

Hahaha... George is too big and too slow to be such a ravager and the two others are smaller than most hens (they are Anconas, a light breed). Glad you kept it real, thanks Hyroler.