[maggiemc]

 Last weekend I took possession of my first ever hens, 4 ex batts. They had bald patches on the chest, but not too bad. Now after a week of being picked on by No1 hen, all their combs are pitted, and 2 have balding heads. 1 looks very fluffy, but does have feathers sticking out at odd angles (I am wondering if she is moulting), another one looks pretty scraggy, with almost a bare neck, although she seems quite happy. What is puzzling me is that all 4 ( including Boss lady) appear to have broken off feathers on the shoulder position, only white fluffy stubble is showing. I have no clear idea what is causing this. They do sleep jammed into 2 nesting boxes, so I wonder if it is happening then. I have not found many feathers around so would they eat them??   We have now invested in some electric fencing and made them their own garden to give them plenty of space.  Any ideas please.

[joyfull]

they will be first of all sorting out their pecking order so you will have had quite a bit of pecking and fighting. Once this has been established they will settle down. Ex batts can be quite nasty - not because they are any nastier than any other type of hen it's just that they have had to fight for everything in the past. Then secondly they will be going into a moult, many of mine are in a moult at the moment and look like they are oven ready, but don't worry their new feathers will soon come through 

[helens-hens]

It sounds to me as though they could be moulting. Even though we are getting into autumn and winter is round the corner a lot of hens seem to choose now for moulting  .

As long as there are no signs of serious pecking (i.e. no bleeding) I wouldn't worry too much at this stage. I think hens do sometimes eat feathers if they are running short of protein (moulting uses up a lot of protein). Some owners feed a little bit of tinned fish or cat food to up the protein intake. Keep an eye on them for a couple of days if it does seem like a moult perhaps consider supplementing their diet in this way (assuming they have access already to layers pellets or crumbs)

[Helenaj]

The white shafts you mention are the feather shafts which are produced as new feathers grow in and are perfectly normal.

[cejx]

my ex batts are moulting.  feathers everywhere, the bluebelle which isn't moulting has gone off lay in sympathy with them!  Ex bats are vicious, but give them a few weeks, a lot of love, a lot of feeding stations, and more treats than they really should have - and they'll soon start looking like proper hens.