Warm boot recommendations please

[Anna]

I wonder if anyone can help? We have had 3 point of lay hens since June and first time we have kept hens. One of them has lost feathers from the back of the neck and to a lesser extent at the front. I thought one of the others had been pecking her but I haven’t seen any pecking now for the last few weeks (we used anti pecking spray) and have read about a partial moult in young chickens, so wondered if it could be that. She is otherwise well, eating lots and laying. The other 2 hens are fine. Photos attached. Many thanks.

[Cat tails]

That doesn’t look like a moult, but still rather than pulled off feathers. Although you might not see any feather pecking or pulling now, it might have happened before. It takes a long time for them to regrow and might not happen untill she moults.

My new hen is sporting a rather bald neck too, but pretty sure that is due to figuring out the pecking order.

[The Dogmother]

Looks a bit like a neck moult to me, and if they were hatched before the longest day, then they might well have a light moult this year. Keep an eye out for any feather pulling though, and be prepared to fit a bumpa bit to the perpetrator/s if necessary, especially if they start to pull out the emerging quills.

[Cat tails]

Shouldn’t the old quills have fallen out if it was a moult? These just look broken to me. But anyhow, like DM says, don’t think they aren’t feather pulling, just because you don’t see em do it. 

[Anna]

Thank you both. Yes I wasn’t sure if they were emerging quills on the neck or broken off stumps but the more patchy loss on her front made me wonder about a moult. We got the hens at the beginning of June and this hen was already laying at that point.

[The Dogmother]

Could she be rubbing them off by sticking her head through something or rubbing it on a feeder?