hen missing feathers

[Hillaire]

Hello,

So I have a gold laced cochin hen who is missing feathers... I know a few of my hens are missing feathers on there backs and heads due to my barred cochin rooster being a little rough (I plan to either rehome him or cull him as he is just too rough on them). I am kinda worried about this hen though because I came home last night to do chores everything was normal she looked the same then as I am sitting on my sun porch that overlooks the chicken coop and run I notice a lot of her tail feathers are starting to go missing. So now I am sitting here wondering if it's all from the rooster or if I have a feather plucker in the midst... My poor girls, that barred cochin boy just loves my 2 gold laced beauties and leaves half of the flock alone it seems... time to go mister rooster.

 

[Pork Pie]

If the feather loss is not from over-mating, then take a look at this link:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1148824/topic-of-the-week-feather-pecking-eating

You could always separate your cock bird for a while and keep a close eye on the girls. Continued feather loss suggests that it may not be over-mating.

 

[Hillaire]

I thought about separating him too, the one thing is that he is the main rooster so he has done most of the mating, I have some eggs in the incubator and whatever I decide to keep and not sell from that batch I don't want with their sire. obviously when I get home from work today I'll have a better idea by looking at the state of my hen I'm either going to pull her for a few days or him

 

[Pork Pie]

I thought about separating him too, the one thing is that he is the main rooster so he has done most of the mating, I have some eggs in the incubator and whatever I decide to keep and not sell from that batch I don't want with their sire. obviously when I get home from work today I'll have a better idea by looking at the state of my hen I'm either going to pull her for a few days or him

Some roos are just crazy, but given the right amount of space and number of possible mates this need not be the case. Maybe critically look at your set-up as this could be a contributory cause. If you fail to address any potential issues, it may only set up any future roos for the same failure - just a thought.

 

[Hillaire]

The only thing that may be causing stress is the 4 guineas in the pen with them. I put them in there this winter but now that it is starting to warm up will be catching them and putting them to work. I have plenty of room in the chicken coop for them so my set up is fine. The rooster has 10 hens to choose from and more growing out now. I do have another rooster in the pen but he is low on the totem pole and only goes outside to eat and drink and goes back into the coop to hang out with his silkie girl who he treats like a princess. He is a partride cochin and just a sweetheart. I used to have another partridge boy who I feel was keeping the barred boy in check I sold him though as he was getting a little floggy towards me and didn't want that gene or behavior passed on to future roosters.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I thought about separating him too, the one thing is that he is the main rooster so he has done most of the mating, I have some eggs in the incubator and whatever I decide to keep and not sell from that batch I don't want with their sire. obviously when I get home from work today I'll have a better idea by looking at the state of my hen I'm either going to pull her for a few days or him

How many rooster do you have?
How much space?

As @CTKen mentions, space can be a big issue. Some hens are a favorite as well. So take a look at your set-up to see if any adjustments need to be made.

 

[Hillaire]

How many rooster do you have?
How much space?

As @CTKen mentions, space can be a big issue. Some hens are a favorite as well. So take a look at your set-up to see if any adjustments need to be made.

I have 2 roosters like I said the 1 partridge doesn't mate all the time here and there but doesn't actively pursue like the barred roo does. I have 2 roosters and 10 hens I have more hens growing out right now. My coop is 10x6 the run is 30x10 which is more than enough room. The gold laced cochin hens are definitely his favorites.