Have you ever walked out to your chicken coop only to find a pile of feathers on the floor? Or maybe you’ve noticed one of your hens looking a bit bare in certain areas? Don’t panic! Feather loss in backyard chickens is actually quite common and usually not something to worry about.
As a chicken keeper for over 10 years I’ve seen my fair share of balding birds! Today I’m going to share the most common reasons why your chicken might be missing feathers and what you can do about it.
The Most Common Reasons for Feather Loss in Chickens
1. Molting – The Natural Feather Replacement Process
Molting is probably the most common cause of feather loss in chickens. After chickens reach about a year old, they undergo an annual molt, typically in the fall. During this time, they replace old, worn feathers with fresh new ones.
Some interesting facts about molting:
- It can last anywhere from a few weeks to three months
- Chickens often stop or significantly reduce egg laying during molt
- The degree of molting varies – some chickens might appear almost “naked” while others barely show signs of molting
- Feather regrowth requires lots of protein and energy
What to do about it Boost your flock’s protein intake during molting. Consider switching to a grower feed formulation (higher in protein) or adding protein-rich treats like mealworms and sunflower seeds. Once molting is complete, return them to their regular diet
2. Parasites and Pests
Mites and lice are common culprits behind feather loss. These tiny pests can cause your chickens to lose feathers especially around the vent area.
How to check for parasites: Look for signs of mites or lice and their eggs around the chicken’s vent. You might see small bugs moving around near the skin or on the shaft of remaining feathers.
What to do about it: Treat your entire flock with appropriate parasite control products. Thoroughly clean your coop to break the life cycle of the pests. You can use products like diatomaceous earth (be careful not to create dust that chickens might inhale) or natural remedies like peppermint, cinnamon, and lemongrass. Make sure your chickens have access to a clean dust bath, which helps them combat parasites naturally.
3. Dietary Deficiencies
Feather loss can result from inadequate nutrition, particularly protein deficiency. Feathers are made almost entirely of protein, so proper nutrition is crucial for maintaining healthy plumage.
What to do about it: Ensure your chickens are on an appropriate feed for their age and life stage. A good rule of thumb is that at least 90% of their diet should consist of quality chicken feed, with only 10% coming from treats, garden veggies, fruits, and free-ranging. Check your feed’s protein content – laying hens typically need about 16% protein, but this may need to be higher during feather regrowth periods.
4. Feather Picking and Bullying
Sometimes chickens peck at each other’s feathers due to boredom, stress, or establishing the pecking order. This behavior can lead to significant feather loss, especially on the back, neck, and vent areas.
Signs of bullying: Look for chickens with missing feathers in accessible areas like the back and tail. You might also see dried blood on the skin or notice behavioral changes like withdrawn or anxious behavior.
What to do about it: Give your chickens more space (aim for at least 3 square feet inside the coop and 10 square feet in an outside run per bird). Provide environmental enrichment like chicken toys, lettuce balls, swings, or branches. If severe bullying is occurring, you might need to separate the bullied chicken until feathers regrow, or address the aggressive bird.
5. Mating Behavior
If you have roosters, overzealous breeding can cause feather loss in hens. Roosters stand on hens’ backs during mating and may pull feathers with their beaks or damage them with their feet.
What to do about it: Consider using chicken saddles (aprons) to protect hens’ backs. Make sure you have an appropriate hen-to-rooster ratio (10-12 hens per rooster is recommended). In extreme cases, you might need to separate or cull an aggressive rooster.
6. Broody Behavior
Broody hens sometimes pull out their own chest and belly feathers to create a nest and help keep eggs warm. This is completely normal behavior.
What to do about it: If you want the hen to hatch eggs, leave her alone – the feathers will regrow once she’s done brooding. If you don’t want her to be broody, you can try breaking the broody cycle to stop her from pulling more feathers.
7. Vent Gleet
Vent gleet is a fungal infection that affects a chicken’s vent area. It can cause feather loss along with a whitish-yellow discharge.
What to do about it: Consult a veterinarian for proper diagnosis and treatment. Keep the coop clean and provide fresh water and food. Adding apple cider vinegar to water (a few tablespoons in a five-gallon waterer) can help improve gut health, potentially preventing issues like vent gleet. Just don’t use it in galvanized containers!
8. Preening
Regular preening behavior can cause minimal feather loss. Chickens preen to distribute oils from their preen gland at the base of their tail to their feathers, keeping them waterproof and healthy.
What to do about it: Nothing! Preening is natural and necessary. You might see some feathers around the coop, but as long as your chickens look healthy otherwise, there’s nothing to worry about.
9. Changes in Diet
Abrupt changes in diet can sometimes trigger feather loss. The chicken’s body might react to dietary changes by initiating a molt.
What to do about it: Make any dietary changes gradually rather than suddenly. This allows the birds’ digestive systems to adjust properly.
10. Environmental Stress
Poor environmental conditions can cause stress-related feather loss. This might include temperature extremes, overcrowding, poor ventilation, or inadequate access to food and water.
What to do about it: Ensure your coop is well-ventilated but draft-free. Provide adequate shade in hot weather and appropriate warmth in cold weather. Make sure all chickens have easy access to food and water stations.
11. Vent Pecking
Hens’ vents remain red and swollen for a few hours after laying an egg, which can attract pecking from curious flock mates, especially in overcrowded conditions.
What to do about it: Darken nest boxes to hide the red coloration. Avoid intense lighting in the coop. Consider keeping chickens separate until mid-morning when most have already laid their eggs (though this can be challenging).
12. Rodent Damage
In rare cases, rodents might chew on chicken feathers while birds are sleeping. You’ll notice feathers with missing ends or jagged edges.
What to do about it: Secure the coop against rodents by covering openings with 1/2-inch hardware cloth. Clean up spilled feed promptly and store feed in rodent-proof containers. Consider placing mint around the coop as a natural deterrent.
13. Predator Attacks
A hawk or other predator attack can result in missing feathers. If your chicken survived with only feather loss, they’re quite lucky!
What to do about it: Provide a covered run to protect against aerial predators. Be vigilant about securing the coop at night against ground predators.
How to Help Your Chickens Regrow Their Feathers
Once you’ve identified and addressed the cause of feather loss, you can help your chickens regrow their beautiful plumage:
- Provide proper nutrition – Ensure adequate protein in their diet
- Reduce stress – Minimize handling and changes to their environment
- Protect bare skin – Consider using chicken saddles if needed to prevent sunburn and further pecking
- Be patient – Feather regrowth takes time, sometimes up to several weeks
When to Be Concerned About Feather Loss
While most feather loss is normal, there are some situations that warrant closer attention:
- Feather loss accompanied by bleeding or open wounds
- Signs of illness like lethargy, reduced appetite, or unusual droppings
- Severe feather loss that leaves large areas of skin exposed
- Feather loss accompanied by parasites that don’t respond to treatment
In these cases, consulting with a poultry veterinarian is recommended.
Final Thoughts
I’ve found that in most cases, feather loss in backyard chickens resolves itself with a little time and proper care. By maintaining good coop hygiene, providing quality nutrition, and ensuring your flock has adequate space and enrichment, you can keep feather problems to a minimum.
Have you dealt with feather loss in your flock? What was the cause, and how did you address it? I’d love to hear your experiences in the comments below!
Remember, a chicken losing feathers isn’t usually something to freak out about – it’s just part of the wonderful, sometimes weird world of keeping these amazing birds!
Treating Feather Loss In Chickens
It can be a bit unsettling when you notice one or more of your chickens are missing feathers. There can be many reasons for it. We have some helpful tips for understanding why your chickens may be losing feathers and solutions you can try to remedy the problem.
Causes of Feather Loss
One of the most common causes of missing feathers is due to molting. Molting occurs once a year in mature birds 16 months and older. Chickens will molt once a year, usually in the fall, losing their feathers from their head and down their entire body. Because regrowing new feathers places great demands on a chicken, egg production greatly decreases or ceases all together while molting. Molting can take anywhere from 4 to 12 weeks or more.
Feather loss can occur anywhere on a chicken. Paying attention to where feathers are missing can sometimes indicate what is wrong. Feathers missing on the head can be caused by molting, lice or aggression from other chickens. Broody hens will peck at their chest feathers. Random bald spots could be from parasites, bullies within the flock, or the chicken pecking its own feathers. If you notice that the vent area is missing feathers, there could be numerous reasons – mites, lice, worms, self-pecking, being bullied, or the hen could be egg bound. If feathers are missing near wings of the back of the hens neck, this is probably caused by the rooster during mating.
In order to minimize feather loss, you need to understand why chickens lose feathers. In some cases, chickens may actually be pecking at their own feathers or they may be pecked by other chickens in the flock. Pecking is actually instinctive to chickens. They are curious creatures and explore by means of pecking. Chickens usually peck at items that catch their attention such as shiny objects or moving bugs. Chickens who live in too close quarters may become bored and start pecking each other. This occurs more often in the winter when they find themselves spending a lot of time in the hen house. To avoid overcrowding, plan for each chicken to have approximately 10 square feet of space.
There is a pecking order in every hen house. Hens determine their order within the flock by pecking one another. There are some bullies who will continuously peck at other chickens even after the hierarchy has been established. Chickens are attracted to the color red. If a chicken becomes injured and is bleeding, it can be seriously injured by other birds in the flock who will peck at the red blood. Injured chickens need to be moved away immediately from the flock for their safety. Over-mating can also lead to hen pecking. To eliminate this problem, a flock should have eight or more hens to one rooster. You can also purchase a poultry block, which allows the pecking to occur elsewhere.
If your chickens seem to be pecking at their own feathers, this may be a symptom of external parasites. Mites and fleas, common parasites, live in the cracks and crevices of the chicken coop near roosts and inside nesting boxes. At night, they suck the chickens blood and irritate their skin which leads to pecking at these sensitive spots. Lice can also be a nuisance. Lice eat dead skin and other debris such as feather quill casings where the feathers meet the skin which causes itching and a burning sensation. Chickens try to combat the discomfort by feather pecking. Monthly inspections of each chicken within the flock can help identify parasites. Another cause for pecking is worms. If you suspect worms, see your veterinarian for a diagnosis and treatment.
Is there anything that can help chickens grow their feathers back? While you cant speed up the natural process, there are some things that you can do to create the best environment for your flock:
- Maintain your chickens living space – clean the coop, roost, and nesting boxes regularly.
- Provide dietary protein – Make sure your chickens have a diet rich in protein. Offer protein-rich treats such as meal worms and sunflower seeds in moderation.
- Prevent boredom – Keep your chickens happy and busy so they dont get bored and start to peck each other. Supervised free-ranging and a cabbage piñata can distract them from one another.
- Provide a dust bath – Give your chickens a place to dust bathe in their run area. Dust bathing is a natural way chickens instinctively clean their feathers to eliminate pesky parasites.
- Remove a pecked chicken – If a chicken is missing feathers and being pecked by other members of the flock, it needs to be removed to a separate living area until the feathers grow back.
In most cases, you should be able to determine the reason for feather loss in your flock. If you have further questions , call or come into your local Southern States store for advice & products.
Chickens Molting Or Something Else? 9 REASONS Chickens LOSE Feathers And What To Do About It!
FAQ
Why is one of my chickens missing feathers?
Your chicken is likely losing feathers due to a natural, annual molt, but other causes include parasite infestation (mites or lice), bullying or feather-pecking by other chickens, rooster damage from mating, or even a deficiency in protein in her diet. To determine the exact cause, check for pin feathers (suggesting molting), examine the chicken for parasites or skin irritation, and observe her interactions with other flock members.
How to tell if chicken is molting or has mites?
What triggers molting in chickens?
Chickens molt to replace old, worn-out feathers with new, healthy ones, which is a natural and essential part of their life cycle, primarily triggered by decreasing daylight hours in late summer and fall. This process provides them with fresh, insulating plumage for winter and is also necessary to grow new feathers made mostly of protein. During a molt, a chicken’s energy is directed towards feather regrowth, leading to a temporary decrease or stop in egg production.
Do worms in chickens cause feather loss?
Internal parasites (worms) can cause feather loss as well. Usually it is because their vents have become inflamed and vent gleet has set in. If your chickens have droppings stuck to their back side and are losing feathers, it might be time to deworm them.