SLW Roo loosing feathers

[braddeeadams]

I am new to the forum and have a question....I have a SLW Roo that is a little over a year old..he has started to loose or break his feathers on both wings, in the same place on both sides...we checked him for mites but he is clear...any ideas??

 

[Miss Lydia]

could he be fighting with another roo through the fence? my ducks do that when they go at each other through the fence. or you could have one of the other chickens plucking them out of him.

 

[braddeeadams]

He is the only rooster, would a hen peck on a rooster they have been together for a year never had this problem before. The weird part is that is located on each wing in the same spots.

 

[tinydancer87]

I have a frizzle cochin rooster who started losing his feathers, I treated him for mites but the feathers are not growing back....they just look broken where they come out of the skin. He looks really bad...bald spots, you can see his little tail! I think he has allergies and may also be molting...several of the frizzle hens are like that too. The regular feathered cochins look normal....

He is normal otherwise. I am interested to know what others think about this.

 

[braddeeadams]

When do they start molting? He is the only one like this out of all of our flock, we did recently add this past week the brooder box with 30 babies in the same coop. COULD It be stress????

 

[Miss Lydia]

feather pecking usually means the chickens are lacking protein since feathers are mostly protein, over crowding and boredom just to name a few, and I have seen some pretty bad pictures of feather pecking, one of my roos allowed some of his girls to peck his wattles till they were bleeding, I sprayed him with blue-kote to hide the wonds till they healed. don't ask me why they will let them do such things it's beyond me. found this maybe it will help https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=476554
.most chickens molt in the fall of the year, sorry my manners aren't so good tonight,

to you both

 

[braddeeadams]

Thanks I will try adding more protein..............does anyone know what is the best protein I can give them?