Why all the back/saddle feathers gone?

[mom2landj]

Thanks guys. My chickens eat Purina layena - as much as they want, with some leftovers every day or two (corn, pasta, bread, rice). Is there something else they should be getting?

 

[JustAChickenLoverOverHere]

Here are some better pictures. Feathers around her head are bare too

Looks like over mating.

 

[JustAChickenLoverOverHere]

Looks like over mating.

Or being targeted/favorited.

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

Or being targeted/favorited.

Lol only with chickens is targeted equated with favoritism.

 

[mom2landj]

I cleaned the coop today and found a HUGE mouse nest. Full of feathers. This happened before too. Could it be the mice are taking the feathers right off the chicken?

 

[JustAChickenLoverOverHere]

I cleaned the coop today and found a HUGE mouse nest. Full of feathers. This happened before too. Could it be the mice are taking the fathers right off the chicken?

Definitely could happen.

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

It could, but most likely they are finding them. How many birds do you have, if you have more then 10 then they can easily generate that many feathers.

 

[mom2landj]

I only have 6 chickens ATM. I honestly think the mice have been taking their feathers this whole time. I’ve cleaned out the mouse nest before and I asked my husband to trap them but I don’t know if he ever put the traps out. I’m hoping to get these mice tonight. I’m wondering how many there are. I’ve got two traps out there. We’ll see.

 

[Weeg]

How much extras do you feed a day? You said bread, pasta and leftovers? Cut back on that, and up the protein by feeding high protein additives like cooked egg, fish or canned tuna, and even a bit of cat food for extra protein.
It does look like over mating, I suggest hen saddles in the mean time. I really don't like the saddles with the elastic that goes around the wings. That elastic dug into and made a huge deep cut in my hens wings. They hated it, and it looked very painful. Yellow scabbing around the area, terrible. I really like this design. It doesn't go around the wings, and is stiff around the neck with a wide strap under the winds so nothing rubs, or pulls on them to stay put.

 

[Weeg]

I only have 6 chickens ATM. I honestly think the mice have been taking their feathers this whole time. I’ve cleaned out the mouse nest before and I asked my husband to trap them but I don’t know if he ever put the traps out. I’m hoping to get these mice tonight. I’m wondering how many there are. I’ve got two traps out there. We’ll see.

It is very likely that the mice were just taking the plucked feathers off the ground. Get rid of them, but if they are able to get to the food, there gonna go for the food and the feathers on the ground before their gonna go out of there way to pluck the hens feathers.

Plus, the feathers missing on the back of the head are a common sign for over mating. Hens with bald back of heads are 99.9% of the time getting over mated. That is what I think is happening here, not the mice.