Okay, so before my hens molted, I had a rooster and three hens, only one of them showing signs of rooster damage, and even then it wasn't much. During the molt I noticed that the roosters favorite hen showed signs of it, as her feathers around her back were ratty and she was missing some, but I assumed he was just pulling out her loose feathers that were already coming out. After the molt everyone looked great, new feathers in, except that hen, who looked much worse. I asked people here if she would grow new feathers, and they said that she would have to wait another year until she molts again. Just recently I put in 5 more laying age pullets, so the rooster will be able to evenly spread out his job, but I still don't think my hen will be able to go another year without having bare patches on her, which I do not want. So, does she need a saddle? And could I make one for her if she does? Oh, and I've heard that they need to be able to preen the feathers under the saddle, so how do I account for that? Right now she doesn't have a bald back, but I don't want her to get to that point. Thanks!
She looks pretty good, but a saddle is easy to make and they are tolerated pretty well. Here's a link To FarmerKitty's saddle page. I used her no sew pattern with very good luck. https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=4031-Patterns Good luck.
