Hens being pecked

[doiron5]

Hello. I have 2 americaunas that have the feathers missing at lower back area. My 5 hens and 1 roosters pretty much free range all day, go into coop at dark, I secure them in for night, and starts over again when I let them out around 7 am. I never see any bullying. I'm curious why giving more protein would stop it. They eat high protein pellets for egg laying only along with some scratch as a treat before bedtime. I saw tonight that the one americaunas was sleeping all alone in a nesting box. She usually cuddles with the 2 r.i. on the floor but theyre now up on the roost. this may have started when our temps started to drop into single digits at night. i worry about Cookie. she is the bottom of the pecking order, missing feathers. and now sleeping alone. The other americauna has always roosted on the perch with my rooster and leading hen but she is still getting pecked. Cookie could probay squeeze onto the roost but she's not tough! Any advice would be great!

 

[my sunwolf]

Sounds like your rooster is treading the hens too hard and preventing the feathers from growing back. You can separate him for a while until they get a good start on the feathers, or you can put saddles on them to prevent treading damage.