Greasing up your flock!

[Bigfatchicken]

I was recently told by a friend since my roosters are getting a little too rough with my hens and there plucking off their back feathers. That I should give them bacon grease in their water because there missing some type of mineral and that’s causing them to do this. Is this true or is my friend pulling my feathers lol. I’m just nervous that one day I might come out to my hens and see a naked chicken running around and how can I promote feather growth and how long does it take to grow back?

Thanks for the help much appreciated.

 

[chicmom]

Nope, I don't think that's true.....Your rooster is just really mating very roughly with the hens. It's pretty normal for a rooster to jump on a hen's back, and they usually hold on the the neck feathers to keep her still while mating. Some roosters are just brutal though. Get rid of the rooster, and the hen's will grow back their feathers. You could always get another rooster, that might be kinder. Also, what is your rooster to hen ratio? If you just have a few hens, they may be over-mated.

If the entire feather is pulled out, another one will grow in it's place. Since feathers are made up mainly of protein, then it's great if you can give your hens some extra protein in their diet. You could feed them some chick grower, which can have 20 to 24% protein, and just make sure you supply the oyster shell.

Hope this helps!