Please HELP!!! Panicked

[NikkisChix]

this is my first flock and they were born between March 19 and April?? I noticed today that 5 out of the 8 hens have NO feathers on their stomachs!! Their skin is white not red and otherwise they seem fine. What's happening?!?!

 

[hennible]

Could be moulting. Try doing a search on here, maybe that would help. What kind of hens are they?

 

[NikkisChix]

RIRs and one silkie. The silkie hasn't lost any feathers. I just went out with an LED flashlight and was able to examine the roost and the walls of the coop and two of the chickens bald areas and I didn't see anything moving or alarming other than the missing feathers. Everything I seem to read says molting starts with the head first??

 

[hennible]

So no lice etc? Any rooster? Are they making nest with the feathers or any thing. What about internal parasites? Hmmm

 

[NikkisChix]

No roosters, I did not see any love or mites but I will examine again tomorrow holding them with someone else's help but I've checked several times and haven't seen anything. I haven't noticed a large amount of feathers. No parasites visible in poop and poop looks healthy. I did notice some feathers in poop but I assumed it had just ending up in there from falling or something

 

[hennible]

Do they roost on a bar? Could the feathers be getting rubbed off? It would make sense then that the little hen is I unaffected, not as heavy so she doesn't rub on the bar... Maybe.

 

[NikkisChix]

The roost is a 4x4 board. I'll have to get a picture this afternoon... From the bottoms their vent down going in the direction of their head there's the bald area the size of a large onion? I know that no one is having issues with laying bc I got 7 eggs yesterday and the 8th hen has just started squatting so inhavent expected 8 eggs yet

 

[NikkisChix]

Their skin doesn't seem red at all or inflamed. On one hen I did notice two little scabs and some red areas that looks kind of like blood drawn to the skin but the skin isn't actally broken- maybe feather picking?? Or are they picking them themselves?? No one is going broody and honestly if they were feather picking, wouldn't I see them running from whoever is doing it?? I have not witnessed any hen going after another in that area. I will be gone today until 7 and then it will be too dark but Thursday afternoon I will have to sit outside and watch them intently in their run. I have been currently coming home around 4 and letting them out of their run into he backyard for 1-2 hours. On the weekends I try and let them out most of they day while I'm home and as long as the dogs don't need to go out. Granted now they all hover by the door wanting out....

 

[NikkisChix]

Best picture I could get from one of the birds. On the left of the photo is part of back leg.

 

[hennible]

That doesn't look to bad, or abnormal to me. In fact my black sex-a-link has a bare spot like that right now too. Keep an eye on them but I don't think it's a big deal. I can't tell you what it is or why though so this is just my opinion. But I wouldn't worry.