Red Sexlink Feather loss... Mounting from another hen?

[MAT10]

Might be best if you started a new thread to get more answers. But I would separate the aggressor for a while. Long enough for the red sexlink to heal and hopefully mess up the pecking order to cause the Orpington to calm down a little. I am not entirely sure that it would work, just what I would try.
THANK YOU Squawkers...

My BO is mounting my Red Sexlink. This time I found minor blood. I cleaned her up but now what do I do??? RSL hardly has any wing feathers & she lets you know she's tender. She's been featherless all summer but I dont know why. Not a molt. She is at the bottom of the pecking order

I have a saddle on my SLW as her backside is bare & they do occassionally peck at it. Tender obviously but no blood drawn on her.

New at this. No rooster in the flock. 10 hens. BO is 3 & hasn't laid since last Nov. RSL is 2, laying nearly every day but her eggs have become very thin & always broken now. So very sad. Should I separate the BO for a time?

How can I help her with the loss of feathers? AND is this caused from being mounted or just pecked at?

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[EggSighted4Life]

How can I help her with the loss of feathers? AND is this caused from being mounted or just pecked at?

Maybe both. What are you feeding including for standard ration and also treats or supplements. From the picture, what's in the bowl looks very inadequate, but I try not to jump to conclusions without details.

I won't tolerate a hen causing rooster type feather damage on other hens or that type of behavior.. I'd also either separate the aggressor (the BO), or rehome, or cull her.

She's been featherless all summer but I dont know why. Not a molt.

Her feather condition will not improve until she does molt.

I have a saddle on my SLW as her backside is bare & they do occassionally peck at it.

Post pics of the SLW without the saddle.

 

[MAT10]

SLW is smilar to this chicken but not as bad; smaller area. Her skin is healthy & intact. Just a long long time waiting for feather re-growth.

Regarding my Sexlink & BO... Separated for tonight. They were free-ranging when I saw her mounting.
The flock gets 18% layer feed w/free choice oyster shells. Treats are rare... most recent has been pumpkin or solder flies with some BO sunflower seeds.
The bowl is cracked corn, given prior to roost time only when temps drop below freezing.

If you still need a pic of my Wyandott I'll get one tomorrow & post.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hens mounting hens is because of dominance. I've also seen males mounting males. It has nothing to do with brutality, it's just a way they show dominance. Most of cockerel or rooster mounting the girls is also dominance. A hen mounting another hen isn't common but it happens, especially in an all-girl flock.

This is just a guess but I'd think the hen with the feather loss has brittle feathers. It's a nutritional defect usually caused by how the hen processes certain nutrients. It is often genetic and can be passed down to the next generation, though without a rooster you obviously aren't planning on hatching her eggs.

When I had my first flock of 8 hens and one rooster two of the hens became barebacked. I ate those two. The other 6 did not go barebacked so I didn't blame the rooster. Of the hens I hatched from that rooster and 6 hens none went barebacked. Those genetics were not passed on. Since you are seeing blood, I'd assume that hen is scratching and cutting the her with her claws. Her spurs are probably not developed enough to be a risk. You may need to decide which of those two you want to keep since you saw blood.

If the entire feather is removed the feather should grow back fairly soon. If just a bit of feather shaft is left behind (like it would be with a broken brittle feather) that feather will not grow back until the next molt.