How to prevent feather loss?

[kuhnse51]

I have 1 rooster in with 12 hens. I used to have 2 roosters but got rid of one because my girls seemed to be losing a lot of feathers on their back and I know that ratio wasn't the most favorable. I had my rooster separated from the girls for a couple weeks to give the girls' backs a break. None of their feathers seemed to be growing back at all, even my one girl who's back is completely bare. I have a feeling she is picking out any feathers that have tried to grow back. I put the rooster back in with them because he was getting lonely all by himself. Now it seems the girls are losing more feathers even with the 1:12 ratio. I have tried saddles and they seem to do nothing and the hens eventually get them off and throw them in the mud anyway. Is there a way to prevent this feather loss or is it just something I have to deal with if I am going to have a rooster in with them? Any tips?

 

[Toddrick]

I have basically the same issue. I only have one roo now and two of mine still have almost completely bare backs. It's been about two months. Every day I trick myself into thinking they look a little better, then the next day they look the same after all.

Do we need to wait until the next molt before they grow back? I thought I saw black pins coming in at one point but they seem to have disappeared. My current rooster is not very veril and only mates them about once a day so they haven't gotten worse.

 

[kuhnse51]

That's kind of what I'm hoping for that once they go through the molt things will get better. It just seems like it's painful for the girls to have to go through mating when it's pulling their feathers out or having the rooster's claws on their bare skin :/ luckily my rooster seems to be calming down a little bit now that he's getting over his teenage phase

 

[Toddrick]

I keep thinking about putting a saddle on the worst one, but I don't want to scare her. I used to hold them every day as chicks but they HATE being touched now. Currently they'll eat out of my hand, but if I reach to pet them they will run away fast. It might take months to build up their trust again if I snatch her and put on the saddle LOL.

 

[TalkALittle]

Do it at night when she's on the roost. Use as little light as you can. This is how I used to get my rooster when I had to check his problematic feather feet. I couldn't get within 5-6 feet of him during the day but could snag him off the roost at night without even ruffling a feather.

 

[Toddrick]

Do it at night when she's on the roost. Use as little light as you can. This is how I used to get my rooster when I had to check his problematic feather feet. I couldn't get within 5-6 feet of him during the day but could snag him off the roost at night without even ruffling a feather.

Yea I know I can do that easily, but I'm just afraid that they'll be paranoid for a long time after that. I'll do it if someone says it will help, but I'm just not sure those feathers are going to grow back until the next molt anyways. I'm also afraid with the heat of summer that it will be too warm (she can't fluff it up like her feathers or get cool dirt on her back).

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

If the feathers have been removed completely, they will grow back. If they are broken, as opposed to being gone altogether, those will stay until they molt (or until you pull them).
Its possible that someone, or more than just one someone, is picking the new pin feathers as they come in. You'll have to do bit of watching to see if that what's going on. You might also up their protein and check for mites or lice, both of which are responsible for feather loss and sometimes hard to spot.

Good luck.

 

[Toddrick]

If the feathers have been removed completely, they will grow back. If they are broken, as opposed to being gone altogether, those will stay until they molt (or until you pull them).
Its possible that someone, or more than just one someone, is picking the new pin feathers as they come in. You'll have to do bit of watching to see if that what's going on. You might also up their protein and check for mites or lice, both of which are responsible for feather loss and sometimes hard to spot.

Good luck.

That makes sense. Mine are dust bathing in mulch, which gets wood chips all over their backs. I have seen them picking the mulch off of their own backs. It seems to get caught under the pins, so I bet they are pulling their own pins out in the process. That explains why I think they are getting better, and then they are bare again the next day. I definitely saw pins today. I might just prevent them from free ranging for a few days to see if that helps.

 

[kuhnse51]

There is definitely a feather picker or 2 in my flock because they over-groom my rooster. He is missing feathers on the sides of his neck and I have checked him over thoroughly for mites or lice and saw nothing. When he was separated from them he started growing pin feathers back on his neck and as soon as I put him back with the girls all of the new feathers had been plucked out again. I'm pretty sure this is why none of them are showing signs of regrowth Is protein supplementation something that should be done everyday or a couple times a week to help with this? I feed them agway's hearty hen layer feed which is supposed to be around 18% protein and they free range for a few hours a day, so I'm not sure if it's a protein problem or just bad habits they have developed