Hens lost back feathers and has been an issure for 6 mos. Rooster ok?

[Hilrod]

And a friend has some of the same family of chickens and don't have this problem---------Yet they seem to be healthy other wise and lay eggs, what could be causing this?

 

[Shannon33]

Is it possible the rooster is tearing their feathers when he mates them?

 

[Hilrod]

I posted this wrong I guess----------The back feathers on the hens are gone and this has been going on for 6 mos.

 

[Hilrod]

Yes--the rooster is twice the size of the hens-------He is a new jersey giant and the hens are rir-

 

[Shannon33]

Well I would guess it is him causing it, since they are missing the feathers and he is not. I've never dealt with this so I don't know what to suggest. I know they make saddles for hens to protect their backs during mating, or you could maybe switch him out for a gentler rooster.

 

[stubbornhill]

The saddles or aprons appear very easy to make. In your situation, I would think it would be worth trying to allow the girls time for thier feathers to grow back. This is a link with some info. https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=4031-Patterns Maybe you could swap out your rooster for a smaller one to someone that has larger hens?