Should I be worried, or is it just molting?

[LittleMissCountry]

I had posted a while back about one of my buff orps losing the feathers on her backside. There was no evidence of mites or lice and it was suggested it was molting. My chickens are about 10 months old. The buff orp also had been losing feathers all over, but only noticeable because the new feathers were coming in lighter colored. I had put BluKote on her bare rump so the others wouldn't peck at her.

A few days ago I noticed one of my black sex links is starting to lose feathers around her vent as well. I started thinking mites, because I couldn't see lice or eggs. I went out last night and ran a paper towel along the bottom and sides of the roosts while the chickens were sleeping and found nothing. I checked the chickens and found nothing. Am I missing something?

I am attaching pictures of the black sex links rump. The buff orp has mostly gotten her feathers back now. She doesn't have any bare spots anymore.

Does anyone see anything that I am missing, parasite wise?

I scoured the coop as well, but I don't want to use permethrin unless necessary since I have cats that hang out near the coop.

 

[mixedUPturk]

Skin looks good and healthy underneath and new feathers coming in nicely looks like molting to me. Looks like your doing a good job just stay vigilant

 

[azygous]

The photo indicates new feathers are growing in the bald area. Since it isn't obvious why these hens lost feathers in the first place, they could have been going through a mini-molt, which is common at their age.

The feathers may have been plucked out by another bored member of the flock. Since they are growing back, it could mean the feather plucker is no longer doing evil. It's something to keep an eye on, though. Any unsolved mystery pertaining to a flock justifies setting time aside to observe the flock for any sort of destructive behavior.

 

[LittleMissCountry]

The photo indicates new feathers are growing in the bald area. Since it isn't obvious why these hens lost feathers in the first place, they could have been going through a mini-molt, which is common at their age.

The feathers may have been plucked out by another bored member of the flock. Since they are growing back, it could mean the feather plucker is no longer doing evil. It's something to keep an eye on, though. Any unsolved mystery pertaining to a flock justifies setting time aside to observe the flock for any sort of destructive behavior.

I had suspected feather plucking with the buff orp, since she is lower in the pecking order, which is why I used BluKote as well. Before applying BluKote, it didn't seem like her feathers were coming back very quickly.
The black sex link is the top one out of the four. No one messes with her. She has always been the bully. So maybe there is feather picking but it seems unlikely with her.

Thanks for the advice, though. I will definitely keep an eye out to make sure.

 

[LittleMissCountry]

Skin looks good and healthy underneath and new feathers coming in nicely looks like molting to me. Looks like your doing a good job just stay vigilant

Thank you! This is my first set of chickens, so I want to be sure I am not missing anything.

 

[mixedUPturk]

Very welcome seems azygous agrees w me compleatly and says it better too as long as you keep up the good work and do as they say im confident youll have a healthy happy flock.