UPDATED! My hens look rough

[Debs55]

I have been battling this problem for months. My 1.5 year old hens have bald butts and chests and even the ones who are bald just look rough. I've treated for mites even though I saw none, tried hen saddles but they keep getting them off and I put them back on, blu kote, and anti pick lotion. I've also seperated my rooster for a while which didn't help. Currently I am using my two isolation pens to seperate 2 bald hens at a time while they grow their feathers back. Any idea what I can do to help them? Also I have a pen on each side of this pen which chickens who are perfectly healthy

 

[ChickenCanoe]

How are they laying?
How many per rooster?
What is their diet specifically?
Could they be eating feathers?
A protein boost will help them grow them back quicker.

 

[Mtn Laurel]

I've got the same thing going on with my lead hen and best layer. She's laying great but her butt is about bald and there's a bald patch on her chest. Even the top of her head - around her comb - is balding. I've inspected for bugs/mites but don't see any on her or the others.

Not only is her butt bald but her butt is nasty, too. Poopy. Always has been since day #1. She is fed fermented feed with limited snacks that are mostly garden items. Too much greens at any one time will give her and the other girls the "runs". Her biggest problem is she hates to roost. I'll put her on the roost and she'll even get down into the floor during the night. So, she gets poo all over her behind during the night. Yuck.

Amazingly, her eggs are clean as a whistle!

She's at least 1 1/2 yrs. old and has never molted that I'm aware of. She was already laying when I got her last June. Don't see any of the other girls or her doing any feather picking. The other two girls have fluffy, clean butts. They don't, however, hold a candle to my scruffy gal in the egg laying department.

Wondering if some hens - especially prolific layers - are just bound to be grungy looking. If so, she fits the bill!

 

[Debs55]

Laying hasn't really changed
There were 17 hens and one rooster but since I have some seperated into other pens because of their baldness (and one broody) there are 12 per rooster
They get laying pellets, scratch, bread, and veggie scraps from our garden
They could be but I haven't seen it

 

[Debs55]

Mine have also never molted but this has been going on for atleast 5 months periodically getting worse or better

 

[ChickenCanoe]

That's certainly a good ratio to prevent overbreeding.
Your layer feed is probably 16 or 17% protein. That is about the minimum needed to maintain body, feathers and produce eggs. When we add treats, scratch, etc., those items shouldn't be more than 5% of the diet or it's necessary to up the protein of the feed. Scratch is about 10% protein at best and the other items you mentioned are lower still. Let's say scratch grains make up half of their intake, the result is 13% total protein.
Try mixing in some high protein grower feed, like a game bird starter. Or at least for the two baldies you have isolated, give them some tuna, yogurt, meat/fish scraps for a while and see how fast they recover. That would be too expensive to do for the whole flock. That's why I suggested the grower feed. If you do so, just provide some oyster shell in a separate container.
Eggs are high in protein so it takes a lot. An egg a day is like a woman having an 8 pound baby every day.

 

[Debs55]

I'll try adding some grower feed. Thanks

 

[Debs55]

Now it's not only my hens. My barred rock rooster Vigoro who is the only rooster in that pen also has a red bald spot now. I noticed it 2 days ago. Last night I went down and sprayed blu kote on all the hens spots, checked the one who kept her saddle on, and sprayed his spot too. Tonight I went down cause I was moving one of the isolated hens back in and moving two others out and his spot is even worse!
I see no signs of mites or mice
I have no clue what is going on!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I'd go out in the middle of the night with a bright light, a helper and magnifying glass and look for the roost mites that only come out at night.
I would also up the protein for the whole flock.
But that's just me.

 

[Debs55]

I have checked the roost for mites and I am working on upping the protein. I've been giving tem starter grower along with their laying feed. And today I am working on starting a fodder system and fermenting feed to get them more nutrients. I'm just at a loss as to what I should do now