Naked birds going into winter

[mamasnowwolf]

Hi all. I have 4 birds in a small coop. 1 cock and 3 hens, Two of the hens are about 1.5 years and still laying strong despite the change in light. The cock has definitely had his way with these two RIR's and their back is all but stripped of feathers. The last few nights have been below freezing and I am worried about their health. They look so sad with broken wing feathers, broken tail feathers etc. I was told our cock (almost 2) would slow down during the winter months, but he doesn't appear to be slowing down any.

I do have a 2nd coop with 7 pullets and 1 cockerel. They are all just shy of 6 months. I worry about putting the cock with any of these new pullets because I don't want them stripped as well. The cockerel hasn't yet mounted any of the pullets that I've seen, but I don't watch them all day either.

Is there any way to rescue the 2 RIR's to let their feathers grow back? Anything I can do to help them out? We do have a panel heater in the coop, just haven't hooked it up yet, but I'm working to get heat in the coop tonight.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Get some chicken aprons to start with. I think you can trim his claws and spurs. It's not going to hurt them being featherless even with winter coming up.

 

[Mrs. K]

Yes, the featherless state bothers you more than it does the hens. At that age, they probably are going to molt hard here, shortly, and will grow back beautiful new feathers. Those feathers are old, and that is a part of the reason they look so ratty.

Do look at his feet. But more than likely, if you do nothing, things are about to get much better. The rooster will slow down, and new feathers are stronger than old feathers.

Mrs K