Hens have lost all feathers at wings

[dgalliher]

I have 2 NH hens that are nearly 2 yrs. old. I have 1 BO rooster that is nearly 1 yr old. I finished a 5 day Corid treatment 2 days ago. I have used deep litter all winter. Yesterday I noticed that both hens have lost all feathers at top of wings. The rooster has not lost any feathers.
The rooster is twice as large as the hens.
I am wondering is this is d/t aggressive mating; mites/lice; or nutritional deficiency d/t Corid.

Yesterday I dusted the hens and coop with DE as I will be emptying the coop soon and am worried about their condition. I began Nutridrench also.

Does anyone know what is causing this? I have attached photos.

Thanks.

 

[HuskerHens18]

I think your rooster may be breeding with them a litttle rough. One of my hens look like that too

 

[rebrascora]

The age of your male bird is very relevant in this. Hi is technically a cockerel (a rooster under a year old) and as such your hens are suffering from his first surge of hormones, before he has learned the technique, balance and finesse of courtship and mating. Young cockerels are often pretty horrid at this time of year because of those hormones and having more hens would probably help ease the burden on the two that you currently have or pen the male separately for several months until that first flush of hormones has eased a bit and your hens have grown feathers back.

 

[dgalliher]

The age of your male bird is very relevant in this. Hi is technically a cockerel (a rooster under a year old) and as such your hens are suffering from his first surge of hormones, before he has learned the technique, balance and finesse of courtship and mating. Young cockerels are often pretty horrid at this time of year because of those hormones and having more hens would probably help ease the burden on the two that you currently have or pen the male separately for several months until that first flush of hormones has eased a bit and your hens have grown feathers back.

 

[dgalliher]

Yes I believe he is 10 mths old. I was hoping to raise their chicks to get additional hens. I think that you are right and I should separate them. Can you tell me if they can spend 1/2 day together, or should they be separately 24/7?

 

[theoldchick]

Overly amorous rooster. Your handsome fella needs more hens or separate him from the girls. I had this problem with my flock years ago. My rooster had a favorite hen he over mated with. So I let him free range during the day. He didn't go far from the pen since he was alone. At dusk, he was waiting for me to open the door so he could roost with the girls. You can also try Hen Aprons that fit over the back of the hen. Improving the diet will help the girls grow nice shiny feathers.

 

[Chasingcars]

When my rooster was over amorous with my ladies to the point it was detrimental to their wellbeing he was taken away and only introduced intermittently...increasing ratio helped but it still needs careful monitoring ..

 

[dgalliher]

Overly amorous rooster. Your handsome fella needs more hens or separate him from the girls. I had this problem with my flock years ago. My rooster had a favorite hen he over mated with. So I let him free range during the day. He didn't go far from the pen since he was alone. At dusk, he was waiting for me to open the door so he could roost with the girls. You can also try Hen Aprons that fit over the back of the hen. Improving the diet will help the girls grow nice shiny feathers.

Thanks for this info. I separated the cockerel from the hens this morning. I have a small coop and pen that I will set up for him this afternoon. He is free ranging now and the hens are in the big coop. I love the aprons! Checked with Tractor Supply Co, but they don't sell these.

 

[dgalliher]

When my rooster was over amorous with my ladies to the point it was detrimental to their wellbeing he was taken away and only introduced intermittently...increasing ratio helped but it still needs careful monitoring ..

I plan to keep them separated as much as possible until I can get more hens.
Does anyone know how long their eggs could be fertile after separation?

 

[rebrascora]

They are usually fertile for a couple of weeks after the cockerel/rooster has been removed. It can be a little longer but you might also encounter hatch/genetic problems with older sperm, so I would probably not set them after that point unless there were very particular circumstances.