Do all roosters leave chickens with bare backs?

[CaroleK]

I got rid of a mean EE rooster and then a large Australorp rooster because my hens were getting bare backs and scruffy necks. I have a small gentle EE rooster left. I will only get rid of him if there's no chance he won't be continuing this problem. I don't want the hens to molt in the fall and end up with bare backs again in the winter. I've tried getting rid of him through a couple outlets, but no luck. I'm not in a position to butcher him at this time, and I'm not doing the apron thing. My chickens aren't "pets" and although they come when I call, I can't really pick them up. Do any of you have roosters that don't cause these problems with their hens?

 

[Fred's Hens]

Different birds have different feather qualities. Some breeds show feather damage very quickly while other breeds do not.

Other issues come into play. Breeders don't typically leave their cockbirds in the hen pens year 'round. Only during breeding season. The ratio of cockbird to hens also comes into play. Too few hens for a resident rooster leads to over mating. Also, certain roosters simply over mount the highly submissive hens. This is sometimes referred to as "having a favorite".

Take a broader look at your over all situation.

Finally, feed quality, especially animal protein, plays a role in feather quality as well.

 

[FreeRangeSpirit]

Roosters leave the hens with bare backs during mating when he is getting a grip on her. Almost every single rooster out there will do the same thing. But you can buy or make a chicken saddle for her so he can't do that.

 

[kkowa]

how many hens do you have? when you have to many roosters per hen they over breed the hens, although some hens are favored over others it causes them to pull feathers also a lot of the time roosters will force the hens to breed therefor they will pull out feathers

 

[CaroleK]

I have 17 hens with one rooster. There are 5 Leghorn; 5 Australorps; and 7 EE. They all run free in every direction. The hens don't stick with the rooster like they used to with the bigger roosters. I will get rid of him as soon as an option develops.

 

[kkowa]

I don't know why they would be losing all there back feathers then???? hmmmm

 

[smedly9921]

UM with out the protective padding the hens will always have feather damage. Its kinda a normal thing. Its called treading. Its not a big deal. The hens usually learn to cope with it. If you are worried about it then separate your rooster.

 

[earthfriendlyfarm]

Or you can make these cool little chicken saddles out of polar fleece. No sew, and the roosters spurs just slide right off and cause way less damage. Underneath the chooks grow back feathers pretty quick and then you can take off the Chicken saddles, as the nice thick feathers act as a buffer for the rooster spurs for a while.

 

[donrae]

I disagree that it's normal for a rooster to leave a hen bald on her back. I've had birds for 20 years and have only had bare backs when:
My birds were overcrowded and the hens couldn't get away from the roosters, AND I had too many roosters (I think it was 4 roosters for a dozen hens)
I had a rooster specifically stalk two hens. All birds were free range and the rooster had 20 other hens to choose from.
I currently have a very submissive hen who may always be bare backed. I have a good ratio, no one else is having feather damage, she just squats every time she sees a rooster.

Other than that, my hens have nice, glossy feathers unless molting.