Bare backed hens, will be freezing in winter

[Abriana]

My rooster has some pretty long spurs, and when he jumps onto their backs to mate them, the hens' feathers come out due to his claws, and their sides are now bare because of his spurs. It will be wintertime soon and I am really worried about them. Won't they freeze? The feathers start to grow back and then he just ruins them again! Is there a way to either make the feathers grow back faster, or keep them covered in the wintertime so they wont' freeze? What concerns me is that my hen Lucy, an EE, she gets her feathers pulled out, but then they grow back super quick. Then my to Columbian Rocks had their feathers pulled out months ago and they still have not even tried to grow back. I'm worried about sunburn too. Any advice?

 

[duluthralphie]

My rooster has some pretty long spurs, and when he jumps onto their backs to mate them, the hens' feathers come out due to his claws, and their sides are now bare because of his spurs. It will be wintertime soon and I am really worried about them. Won't they freeze? The feathers start to grow back and then he just ruins them again! Is there a way to either make the feathers grow back faster, or keep them covered in the wintertime so they wont' freeze? What concerns me is that my hen Lucy, an EE, she gets her feathers pulled out, but then they grow back super quick. Then my to Columbian Rocks had their feathers pulled out months ago and they still have not even tried to grow back. I'm worried about sunburn too. Any advice?

No idea where you are, but i have a couple bare backs all winter long and they do fine...My winters rank right up there amongst worst

 

[coach723]

You can use hen saddles to protect their backs. You can purchase (http://www.hensaver.com/) or you can make your own. They are not a perfect solution in all cases but can help. If you make your own a tightly woven fabric that will not catch on pin feathers works best. I use outdoor fabric like sunbrella, a canvas or denim would work. I would trim the roosters spurs and claws, and if he's really rough with them consider separating him for a while to give them a break. Sometimes they do more damage in the spring and then calm down some for the rest of the year, every roo is different. Also upping the ratio of hens to roo's can help sometimes, but favorite hens are still going to get more attention. The feathers will eventually grow back, but sometimes it takes a long time, and many times do not grow back until the next molt.