Neck feathers missing

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Question

Neck feathers missing: My hens have their neck feathers missing. Under their "chins" it is bare to the skin. They are laying well. Any ideas?

Answer
It’s been a while since I looked under the chin of a chicken, but I don’t recall them having much feathering there. I’ll have to go look at a few of mine and get back to you.

OK, I’m back. I did notice little feathers from the beak down between the wattles, with fewer feathers close to the wattles.

I guess I’m not sure what you are describing, how far under the chins your hens are bare. I have Speckled Sussex, Marans, Leghorn, Americauna, and a few mixes.

I have noticed some of my hens affectionately over grooming my Cochin rooster and he is missing a bunch of neck feathers, just in the front under his “chin”.

He seems to love the attention, but I suspect the hens are responsible for the feather loss.

I’m not sure what to guess at here as I don’t have a clear picture of the amount of area we are talking about.

I would possibly suspect mites, but couldn’t say what this is or if you need to do something about it.

Generally when we notice something out of place with our chickens it’s time to act. Finding out exactly what the problem is can be the tricky part.

A bit more description or picture might help me help you. If the skin looks normal, no signs of rawness, and they are acting normal you probably don’t need to be too concerned.

But definitely keep an eye on them for signs of the featherless area growing or looking irritated.

Some mite treatments call for a withdrawal period before you can use the eggs, so I like to be sure, when treating hens, that treatment is needed.