Hens lost feathers. From what? Pics added.

[ginbart]

Most of my hens are missing their feathers on their backs. I did have 2 roos but rehomed one and now I have 13 hens and 1 roo. Could this be from him? I guess I need aprons?

 

[Judy]

Yes, aprons or saddles. You can make your own with scissors:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=167

I'm no expert but that looks more like feather picking than a roo to me.

 

[threehorses]

Agreed with ddawn. Also be aware that because these feathers were broken off mostly, not plucked out cleanly, that they probably won't replace the feathers until they molt. (IN which case the saddles would be doubly a good idea.)

 

[ginbart]

I wonder why they are picking feathers? They have more room than they need. I have them in part of the barn it's 22 feet by 18 feet and there's only 14 of them. I guess I better start making saddles. Thank you.

 

[Judy]

Usually the other reason give here is too little protein, but judging from your sig line, you know how much protein they need. I have one who has looked like that for months (that's why I found the saddle website.) Neither explanation fits her, either. She is in my free range flock, and their coop would hold twice as many. If she got too little protein it would have had to be a bad bag of feed -- but there were several in the flock when it happened, and she was the only one who lost feathers.

I have wondered if it is one of those things that, when it somehow gets started, they learn the behavior and it becomes persistent, like cannibalism or egg eating. If you ever figure out anything else, let me know!

 

[pattycake]

I've come to believe it's unavoidable. Some chickens just get bald backs -- when they molt, their feathers grow back. You can try giving them aprons -- mine just pulled them off -- and giving them protein and black oil sunflower (seems to work, sort of) but you might not be able to keep every chicken's back fully feathered all year long.

 

[Judy]

At least mine doesn't bother her apron. She's worn one all this time. Made (cut out) of polarfleece. I didn't use the tail feather hole, just the two wing holes, as her spot is high enough that this covers it.

 

[threehorses]

Quote:
Fiber can be an issue, too. I give mine whole (unhulled recleaned for horses) oats as part of their diet and I've read that it's a long established process to feed these to help provide fibers that might help if the birds are feather eating. Of course, protein is also provided. If you're feeding a 16% laying feed, try using the 20%. BOSS might also work in the fiber way as well as producing nice feather condition - I definitely agree.

 

[sandy sea]

Some of my hens which are my roosters favorite look just like yours. I tried the apron s yesterday. Yhe hens hated them, they tried to pull them off and made all kinds of noise that upset the rooster. I took of the aprons and they were happy again. I remember reading on backyard chickens that some people use duct tape. I might check that out

 

[threehorses]

I'm not familiar with the duct tape, but I'd think that it would a) hurt, and b) cover up the skin too much causing possible irritation from the glues (duct tape sticks to anything) and not enough air on the skin, keeping the skin from shedding healthfully as it tends to do.