Help... 1 hen singled out no back feathers

[LisaChick1]

I have 2 female ducks and 1 drake, and 6 hens and 1 rooster for the moment.... One of my 2 easter egger hens has no back feathers at all and I have now seen my drake nibbling on her back and on top of that, My rooster in general seems to not be the gentlest when mating and I have seen a couple of my hens have a bald spot on their head... but this poor little girl has no back feathers now and seems to be getting bullied by both males... Any suggestions? There is no blood, so being newer to chickens I'm wondering how normal this is? I've had 3 roosters and none have done this to my girls and I've never seen my drake pick on any of the other hens. Other then my rooster pulling feathers occasionally while mating, he is very mellow and seems to keep a good eye on the girls. I'm left worried about my one little EE Sofia. Do I separate? I don't want to make her even lower in the pecking order... Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Time to say bye bye to my rooster? I can't let go of my drake but I do have a whole new batch of chicks coming with 2 Roos and have been consisting letting him go because he just seems pretty rough in general during mating and now seeing Sofia I'm thinking it's a yes... ? Would love some advice!
Thanks so much!!!!

 

[brahmabantam]

As you said Roosters aren't really worried about the hen. I've never had ducks, But it sounds like you
should put a chicken apron on her before there is any rips or cuts in the back (from the rooster). I can't help you about the ducks but a good jean ( I make my aprons from old jeans ) should help.


Good Luck

PS I need to put aprons on some of my hens also the Roosters are getting ruff.

 

[Folly's place]

More hens or fewer roosters too. There are other possible issues with her; molting? poor feather quality? Also, your drake and your rooster may just not be very nice, so improving the quality of life for your hens may mean elimination one or the other, and separating the ducks from the chickens. mary

 

[LisaChick1]

Thank you so much for your guidance. I will put an apron on her and I do have many more pullets that I will be introducing to the flock very soon. I'll be up to 20 pullets and 1 roo... And am considering letting go my current rooster. So we'll see what happens! Thanks again!!!!

 

[Mother Fluff]

You should ideally have 12 hens for 1 rooster otherwise fewer hens get more pressure from dominance & mating. I usually keep bantam roosters with my big hens. I like to hear them crow & I'm not trying to get fertile eggs from them. They are not heavy enough to scratch the feathers out. A smaller rooster will cause less damage.

Some ducks can and do kill chickens so I would house them separately.

For hens that peck on each other I use toothpaste on the part getting pecked especially on their heads. Chickens hate that stuff!

 

[LisaChick1]

Thank you very much for the advice. My drake typically is very gentle to the chickens and his ladies, so seeing him nibble on her back feathers of my EE hen was very odd... They are housed separately but I do allow them to free range together and it has never been an issue in the past. Again, it's not a constant problem, but her back feathers are quite scarce so I was a little worried and curious to why she was getting treated differently.
I will be adding more hens to the flock but still think I will be saying goodbye to this rooster. He dances and invites them to mate and allows them to eat first, keeps watch while free ranging and has scared off a cat before which was great, but when he mates he does grab their neck feathers much rougher then my roosters in the past and now seeing what he's done to my EE... Has definitely made me reconsider.
Over all it just seems this one EE girl is not liked so much by the males which is weird. Is it possible they can sense some kind of genetic problem or dislike about her and its part of natures breeding selection.?

I'll put all the advice to use.... adding more hens, continue to keep ducks and hens separated as much as possible, the apron and see how it goes.
Thank you all again! I really appreciate it!!

 

[zabrielle23]

I have a rooster that has done that to one of my hens I separated them. I am keeping him from mating her until she can grow back her feathers she doesn't seem to mind the separation though. I have 2 roosters and 6 hens I know I need more hens but for now one rooster has 2 hens and the other had 3 so I put the rooster with the three hens with the remainding 1 hen and it seems too work for now so that is an option.