Help!! Today I went out to the hen house and saw one of my 1 1/2 month old chicks with her back open down by her tail. I thought she had been pecked at by others, so I removed her. As I was inspecting her, I noticed her skin underneath the feathers, the skin was dry and like leather.
Then I went back to the other chicks and noticed many of them had leathery skin and the feathers were starting to be missing over about her rump.
My older chickens share the hen house (but now the two are separated by a board) and when the older chickens lost some of their feathers, I thought of molting. Now, I see their necks are going bald too!!
1) What do I do about the bloody one? She is eating & drinking. I didn't want to leave her out alone, so I put her back in the hen house for tonight and move her back to her private area tomorrow;
2) What is wrong with everybody? What should I do? Is there a solution? Are they past the point where I can help them? These are laying hens only, so I don't want to have contaminated eggs. I need help, please!!