Is this bullying and if so, how do I stop it?

[BesideStillWaters]

I have two chickens who look like they've been plucked. This one is Avi:

I saw no mites. About four months ago, I had too many roosters, and they damaged the hens feathers. I sold three, and now there is only one with the hens. I thought the feathers would grow back, but the damage kept getting worse on two of them. I was working on getting a cage ready to put the one rooster in to see if feathers would start growing back on the hens. But I discovered Banshee looking like this today. She's scared of all the other hens now, and she acted as if she hadn't had water or food since this morning when I let them out of the house and into their run:

Is this bullying? And how do I stop it? Also, is the one wound infected? If so, what do I do about it? I've treated infected wounds in feral cats before, and I have the antibiotics left over from that. Should I give it? The cat was about 5 pounds, and the chicken is about 5 pounds.

 

[FeatherTay]

I’m sorry I don’t know, but hopefully someone will know. maybe @MGG ? They know a lot about stuff

 

[---Danielle---]

Is she maybe the roosters favorite? a lot of times a rooster will pick a favorite among all the hens and she gets overbred a lot, it happened to my hens and I had to separate her to let her heal. If he gets up on her a lot he could knock the feathers off and if the other hens see a bald spot like that they typically peck at it and make it worse. That could explain why she would be afraid of them. If you keep her with the i would suggest spraying her with blu kote or making a homeade version of it if no feed stores are open, it would at least keep them from pecking her as much.

 

[Parront]

Could be beak marks, or rooster claws. Have you tried a "hen saddle"? It covers the girls backs so that the roosters do not scratch them. The feathers lost will not grow back until she molts. Then she will shed her old feathers and grow new ones.
I rub some Neosporin cream on them, it helps. Do not use any with pain killer, just cheap generic triple antibiotic cream is best.

 

[Parront]

Having more than 1 food and water station helps them all to have a chance to eat. The bullies can't guard the food if it is too far away!

 

[BesideStillWaters]

Is she maybe the roosters favorite? a lot of times a rooster will pick a favorite among all the hens and she gets overbred a lot, it happened to my hens and I had to separate her to let her heal. If he gets up on her a lot he could knock the feathers off and if the other hens see a bald spot like that they typically peck at it and make it worse. That could explain why she would be afraid of them. If you keep her with the i would suggest spraying her with blu kote or making a homeade version of it if no feed stores are open.

Yes, Avi and Banshee seem to be his favorites. (Also the bottom of the pecking order now...)

Ellie May was his favorite until a couple of weeks ago when she unexpectedly passed away. I lost two of my hens that day, from what looks like different reasons. (Layla may have flown into the wall in fright during a thunderstorm and killed herself, Ellie I really don't know about but it seems like something internal. She went from fine to dead in 15 minutes, right in front of me.) I don't want to lose a third.

Layla was at the top of the pecking order (right below my rooster) and when she died, the other hens had to figure out the pecking order again. Banshee went from being #3 to #4 out of 5 hens real fast. Avi stayed at the bottom.

I have Banshee separated for now. Do you know of a recipe I could make homemade until I can see about getting some blu kote at a feed store? I'm not sure when I'll be able to go, we live in the middle of nowhere.

 

[BesideStillWaters]

Could be beak marks, or rooster claws. Have you tried a "hen saddle"? It covers the girls backs so that the roosters do not scratch them. The feathers lost will not grow back until she molts. Then she will shed her old feathers and grow new ones.
I rub some Neosporin cream on them, it helps. Do not use any with pain killer, just cheap generic triple antibiotic cream is best.

Ooooh, okay. I didn't realize I'd have to wait until they molt. Yes, I tried a saddle on another hen (same plucking problem, different issue since she isn't with a rooster), and I can't get her to keep the saddle on for longer than five minutes. Amber is blind and she figured out how to undo the velcro. I'm going to have to try to replace the velcro with some snaps or something.

I'll see if I have any without pain relief, thanks!

 

[BesideStillWaters]

Having more than 1 food and water station helps them all to have a chance to eat. The bullies can't guard the food if it is too far away!

Makes sense. I have two feed stations and two water stations. I had a third feed station in the henhouse, but that's where I found Layla dead a couple of weeks ago, and I got paranoid about putting it back in there. It was also attracting bugs in the henhouse, so I thought two would be enough...

 

[Parront]

Yes, Avi and Banshee seem to be his favorites. (Also the bottom of the pecking order now...)

Ellie May was his favorite until a couple of weeks ago when she unexpectedly passed away. I lost two of my hens that day, from what looks like different reasons. (Layla may have flown into the wall in fright during a thunderstorm and killed herself, Ellie I really don't know about but it seems like something internal. She went from fine to dead in 15 minutes, right in front of me.) I don't want to lose a third.

Layla was at the top of the pecking order (right below my rooster) and when she died, the other hens had to figure out the pecking order again. Banshee went from being #3 to #4 out of 5 hens real fast. Avi stayed at the bottom.

I have Banshee separated for now. Do you know of a recipe I could make homemade until I can see about getting some blu kote at a feed store? I'm not sure when I'll be able to go, we live in the middle of nowhere.

How many hens do you have? Some roosters need 10 or more to be happy and not over breed them.

 

[TropicalBabies]

Hi! Sorry about your troubles. Great job rehoming the 3 boys but your hen/roo ratio is still brutal.
There are a few things you can do;
1) get more hens- like 5-7 more.
2) saddles to protect your girls but it wont keep them from being over mated and they will still be terrorized by your amorous roos advances.
3) get rid of your last remaining rooster.

I got my saddles on Etsy. They have all kinds of styles but I live in a warm climate so did not want to overheat the ladies.