What does this look like? Does it look like mites or pecking

[justinandrew1988]

this is on my rooster i have did some research and need some help i dont see any mites or any discharge on him this is what it looks like im not sure if it appeared like this over night or the past couple of days i dont remember seeing it yesterday but i may have just not noticed it the black hen beside him i notice a very small amount of feathers missing on her but very few not anything like his so needing to figure this out this is my first year of having chickens could he be pecking them off or is it something else they have water and laying pellets and scratch grain and grit all the time my hens just started laying around the middle to beginning of december and he has became aggressive since then but i have just noticed the feathers missing tonight please help if ya can also im new to this site

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Welcome To BYC

When you can, have someone hold him so you can get clearer photos, but from what I can see, it looks like he's being plucked.
The hens may be plucking him while roosting.

Apply NuStock cream to his bottom and see if that helps deter them.
While you are tending to him, look closely for bugs around his vent, under the wings, etc.
If you see anything then dust him with a Permethrin based poultry dust. If he's got bugs, then the pullets likely do to, so check them over as well. Dust them and spray your coop too. Repeat in 5-7 day intervals.

How much grains are you giving? Depending on the protein% of your layer feed and activity level of your flock, you may want to cut back on how much grain/scratch you give to ensure they are getting enough protein.

Here's an article that you may find helpful in identification of mites and lice.
https://the-chicken-chick.com/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification/

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Welcome to BYC, thanks for joining. Think of scratch as being like cake and ice cream - a special treat to be given in small portions occasionally, not as part of the regular diet. The pellets are the balanced diet your chickens should have available at all times (well, except they don't eat at night). The more "junk food" they get, like scratch, the less good, balanced nutrition they'll get. Speaking for myself, I toss my flock of 23 less than a cup of scratch every afternoon, just so they will gather round so I can get a good look at them and kind of do a spot check of everybody, like a little health check. If anyone doesn't look chipper to me, I will do a more thorough check at night after they've roosted.