feather loss

[chasitypearl]

alot of my chickens are losing feathers and have almost bald spots on back just above tail feathers what do i do

 

[brooster]

do you have roosters tearing feathers out of your hens backs? or do yo have a mite problem?

 

[chasitypearl]

i have a young rooster and an older rooster the young one looks good but not the hens or the older rooster

 

[brooster]

roosters will tear up feathers, and your young rooster copuld be breedign your old rooster. I would suggest you get rid of him or get chicken saddles for your hens.

 

[chasitypearl]

thanks i fiqured that was the problem see im new to having chickens but i do love them birds ill be sad to see me young roo go but i got to do it

 

[chasitypearl]

i have another question is there any thing i can do to help getting my hens looking good or do i just wait for the feathers and such to come back

 

[brooster]

how many hens do you have. Make sure its the rooster doing it, not mites or a molt. If you like your rooster and dont want to get rid of him you could seperate him

 

[Carolina Chicken Man]

When a rooster is breeding the hen, he puts his feet on her back. His toe nails will start to tear the feathers out. He will eventually rip her back up. I've just been through this.

How many hens do you have per rooster?

I've got 9 hens for one rooster, and 3 of them get tore up worse, because they are his favorites.

If you want to keep the rooster, you need saddles. If you go to the home page, there is a google search at the bottom. Type in saddles, and you will find several posts. There are some members who have them for sale, or there is instructions on how to make them yourself.

 

[chasitypearl]

i have 2o hens tell me more about the mites i dont think its molting because they all look ruff since my young rooster was old enough to take notice of my hens

 

[brooster]

look at the vent closely, are there little tiny tiny dots crawling, scabs aroung the vent, eggs in the feather?