protecting bare skin in winter

[mike29]

I have a small flock of 5 girls two Rhode Island reds were being pecked around the tail feathers the pecking has stopped with the help of more protein and some vapor rub the feathers have not grown in yet and with the cold weather in new England the tails are looki ng bright red does anyone have any recommendations for protecting the skin in the cold?

 

[ladyearth]

how did you give more protein? thanks

 

[mike29]

Switched treats from cracked corn to more meal worms and black sunflower seeds now it stopped the others from plucking and eating the feathers

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Are the feathers completely gone, or are there still bits left in the skin that weren't completely pulled out?
If there are still bits of feather there, pull them. The birds will not be happy about the procedure, but the feathers will grow back. If you leave them there, they'll stay that way until they molt.

As far as protecting the skin from the cold, I don't think there's much you can do besides apply some Vaseline and be patient. Vaseline is commonly applied to large combs to keep them from getting frostbitten, though I'm not sure it'll do much for the other end. Continue to feed the extra protein until they've put their drawers back on, it'll help speed the feather growth.

Good luck!