Is this rooster damage on my hen's feathers?

[pmcatnip]

We noticed bare skin on this SLW hen. There is a small patch of feathers missing on one wing, and the feathers on her saddle are broken very short. I think it's from rooster activity. At first I wondered if she was molting but the feathers on her saddle have been snapped off. We've isolated her in a wire cage for now while seeking input.

We have about a dozen hens, two dominant roosters, and about eight young little punk roosters. The little punks were leaving the hens alone until this month and now they're trying to get in whenever they can, and fighting amongst themselves for new dominance. The two dominant roosters have always been good with the hens and never scratched them up. So I think that this is probably from the little punks being more rough. I've noticed some broken feathers on the other hens too (mostly on the nape of the neck where the roos hold them) which they have not had before, and small clumps of feathers all over the yard.

Do you think this looks like rooster damage? And should we do anything special for this hen? Should we continue her confinement or let her out? We are planning to slaughter the young roos for the freezer so that should take care of the rough treatment.

 

[jklyles1]

I put Plain Neosporin (without pain relief ingredient) once a day on my hen that was injured. The other hens may pick at her so it may be best to keep her separated for a while.

 

[lcfortiscue]

This is definitely rooster damage. I had this problem at the beginning with my rooster as well. He nearly stripped one of my chickens clean of her feathers. I kept her clean and even bandaged for a bit to stop him from tearing her up more but with time he got the hang of it and wasn't hurting my girls anymore. Her feathers grew back even more radiant too so there was a plus.
Your girl should be fine.

 

[debid]

I'd take care of the numbers problem right now. If you can't process yet, at least pen the young bachelors so they leave your hens alone!

 

[pmcatnip]

Thanks everybody.

I'm relieved that our assessment was correct and that the easiest solution is something we were planning to do anyway. She is still confined so her feathers can grow back, she's got new pinfeathers on her back now so I think it shouldn't be much longer. It's fortunate that there hasn't been any blood (so far, at least). Now we just need to figure out why she's not laying, the poor thing.

 

[pmcatnip]

We dispatched 6 bachelors last night. (I was sure I counted 8 the other day...apparently two must have found a new sleeping place.) The yard was blissfully quiet this morning.

 

[Chickens R Us]

I have this problem with my rooster he is very rough on the girls with the exception of 1 dominate hen, I have 9 hens 1 roo. I made chicken saddles for them so their feathers can grow back. I found a free pattern on another page just type in chicken saddles, they are easy to make.

 

[pmcatnip]

I have heard of chicken saddles, my sister works at a fabric store and hears about all kinds of interesting projects that people are making. The two dominant roosters that we kept are very good to the ladies and have never torn them up. It was all the young brats causing problems, trying to get some action in quick & rough before being chased off by someone else.

This particular hen has lots of new feathers coming in and filling out the gaps so we let her out of the cage yesterday.