Bare hens and winter

[VermontGoose]

Hi all,
I have a flock of 8 hens 1 rooster all one year old. About half the hens the rooster has overmated and they have lost most or all the feathers on their backs. I know this is common and if they are not being picked bloody by the other hens it is generally not a problem in and of itself.

I first noticed this late winter and bought aprons for the ladies. They have worn them since. I know this prevents the hens from flying or fully fluffing their feathers and mites can infest the apron. Recently I took some of the aprons off because the bare hens without aprons don’t seem bothered by the fact. The hens I took aprons off of have not regenerated feathers. See photos.

My question is I live in Vermont and it gets to -30 here. I think I need to place the aprons back on come winter To protect their bare skin, no? I thought the feathers would grow back all year while wearing the aprons but it didn’t happen. I want to get rid of aprons since it’s not causing a problem for those without an apron. But I can’t have bare birds in deep winter. Thoughts.

 

[sourland]

To me that looks more like feather pecking/plucking than damage from overmating. It is a problem that tends to start when the birds are enclosed in the winter. Generally the culprits are the birds that are in perfect feather. Do an on site search on Pin Less Peepers. They can be applied and then removed after feathers have regrown. If your birds go into a fall molt, they should regrow feathers.

 

[Bigbluefrog]

I have seen this with my neighbors hens, it is from mating. He said it doesn't bother the hens. I'm thinking I would separate the roo if this happens with my flock...but I am no expert on roosters. My last one caused bare backs on my hens. And he turned mean so he went bye bye.