bare back chickie why and sweater for this winter?

[mxmarg]

Hi! Thx for reading! At this point we have 2 2ish year old hens and 1 2ish year old silkie (bantam) rooster. Over the summer the silkie has steadily been going bald on his head and a hen has been steadily losing feathers from her back while the other hen is pristine.
1- Is it fairly obvious Miss Pristine is plucking the others or could there be another reason for their feather loss?
2- We lost 2 hens this year, shouldn't that be easing any stress she feels considerably and have her ease up on them?
3- With winter looming in Wisconsin, should I find a sweater or something for Miss Bareback? I have no idea what to do with the little Mr. whose lost feathers from his head.

suggestions? Thank you so much!!!

 

[Wyandottes7]

They might be pecking at each other. Watch them closely, and see if any chicken in particular is picking on the other ones. Also, check them for mites and lice. Parasites can cause chickens to lose feathers. The hen losing feathers on her back might be losing them because of the rooster. When roosters mount the hens, they "tread" the back with their feet, sometimes pulling out feathers. Ideally, a rooster should have eight hens to himself to prevent overbreeding.

Your birds will probably be fine in the winter time. Give them some high protein foods like scrambled egg, mealworms, and wet cat food to help them grow their feathers in. Chickens are hardy creatures, and a bare back or bare head shouldn't affect them too much.

 

[CAjerseychick]

We have 13 hens to our rooster, and about 5 of them are barebacked-- one is absolutely pristine (I think she runs like heck, she is the smallest fastest hen we got and has always been a bit wild, but great mama she was our broody hen over the summer).... In our case its our Roo, very gentle and caretaking in every other way of his hens (he finds a treat, he calls them over and lets them eat it first)...
But he is just one enthusiastic Roo... He just turned 1 yr old, I am hoping he mellows out as he ages (a really beautiful boy as well just splendid with his Shiny Black irrediscent green feathers, he is a Jersey Giant)....

I wonder if they make salt-peter dosing for Roosters....