Why does she not grow feathers back?

[suburbchic]

Thats very interesting about the diet. I always blamed my rooster, I may try the crumbles and see if it changes. I'm also debating making aprons for them till they molt.

 

[Minniechickmama]

They will lay when their bodies tell them to lay. A healthy chicken will lay consistently, whatever that means for that chicken. It could mean 7-days a week, 5 days a week or 3 days a week. But even if you aren't expecting an egg every day, you want to provide a proper and balanced diet for your birds. Layer is just the right balanced diet for a hen in her first couple of years. It has the right amount of protein, calcium, minerals and vitamins for her to lay. When it is time to moult (late summer early fall) she will shed the old feathers out and grown new and should look like a new happy hen when it is over. That too takes protein (to grow new feathers) so the diet is still very important at that time, and that is why they may drop off or stop laying.

 

[chick2good4u]

Did she have any type of injury to the skin or feathers in that area?

I had a pullet that backed her rump up too close to the heat lamp and caught her tail feathers on fire - didn't burn her skin, but the feathers in that area never grew back correctly.

Just a thought...

 

[5Leepy!]

We have a Hen that was the same way... missing feathers from around her neck, her wings, her back, top of her head, etc... We would see a few new feathers coming in and then they'd be gone. Turns out one of our other Hens is picking at her. We only found out because I watched while they were on the roost one evening and saw some head pecking. I isolated the one doing the pecking and low and behold, my other Hen's feathers are growing back! I never saw any pecking before except an occassional correction which is totally normal. Seems like the bullying was happening at night on the roost out of sight.

Just a thought...
5Leepy!

 

[Causin Chaos]

No she didnt have any injury. Sometimes she looks pickley like new feathers are going to grow then she looks bare backed again. Im going to get her the right feed and also I have a cam I am going to put in the coop and see if there is some feather picking and eating going on. Thanks everyone

 

[Minniechickmama]

Aha, sounds like a coop bully then. I hope you find the culprit. One reason for feather pecking is lack of proper diet too.
Good luck figuring it out.