problem with my reds??

[cekmom]

So I've had my flock of 10 for almost a year. We bought 5 chicks (1 golden comet, 2 black austrolops and 2 brown chickens that I can't remember what they are called!) Then two weeks later got 5 RI Reds. They've always done well together even being half older. Back in November we caught a possum in our coop and realized he had attacked 4 of the reds...no major damage to any a few scraped up crowns some missing back feathers one favored a leg for a few days but nothing life threatening. I kept watch on them over the next week to make sure they were OK. The ones that were attacked seemed to go into a stress molt and started dropping feathers...backs getting bare...bottoms getting bare etc. Everyone was still eating and drinking normal...pooping normal...still laying pretty good (we dropped to 8 eggs per day once day light savings time was over) BUT no feathers coming back and bare spots getting barer!!! My husband is convinced that something is wrong with them thinks they have mites, but my thought is if half had mites they would all have mites?? The other 5 older chickens have no issues with dropping feathers it just seems to be the reds. So I guess my question is how long should it take before their bare spots have grown back in?? The initial attack happened in November...we are almost 5 months out so should I be seeing more feathers growing back?? Should I be concerned?? I've included a few pictures. Any insight would be most appreciated!!!

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[CMV]

You have some feather pickers. You can increase their protein intake to try to combat this, but they won't get the feathers back until you figure out which ones are doing the picking. This is a nasty behavior that rapidly becomes ingrained and is nearly impossible to combat if you don't act quickly.

-Increase their protein intake
-Allow plenty of space for them to roam and avoid each other if necessary
-Provide distractions and places to hide in and around the coop and run
-Provide plenty of roosting space; spread the roosts out so they can't pick at each other while roosting
-There are some products on the market applied topically to make the birds taste bad- Hot Pick/No Pick, pine tar, Vicks VapoRub
-There is a very effective product called pinless peepers which is a little chicken head gear that blocks the direct line of sight; not all birds can wear these and they should not be used on free-range birds

I hope this helps.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Pull the injured birds out of the flock. They cannot be in there and should have pulled long ago.
Increase protein in feed dramatically. Animal protein in feed is getting harder to find, but you may find it in a Gamebird starter or Turkey starter.

Hoping things settle down and turn around for you.

Question? Do you have a cockbird in the pen? Is so, what is male/female ratio?