Regrowing feathers?

[HH.Wench]

Any remedy to help regrow feathers on a bald hen? She was on the receiving end of a rough rooster, and has a large area completely bald, with some broken off too.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Poor thing ... If she's free ranging, I would put some sunscreen on the bald area. If you could bet the Roo to leave her alone, that would give her feathers time to grow back in. I've seen some "aprons" for Hens when the Roo gets to rough. Maybe feeding her more protein would help the feathers come in faster.

 

[Chelsa'sChicks]

Roosters tend to have favorites.. like any man some like redheads, some like blondes..
The feathers will grow back, but the rooster will have to be separated and give her protein and calcium. Both of those nutrients hens need to make eggs and feathers. Its hard to do both at once... so extra is good.
You can give her scrambled eggs, deli meat, meal worms or crushed up egg shells. All of these are safe without spending more at the store then needed. I say this from experience because all of my roosters fancy 1 or 2 hens and I had one hen that was going bald also.

 

[coach723]

The feathers will likely grow back in during the next molt. You can use a hen saddle to protect the back until then. And raising the protein level in the diet can help with feather growth. Switching to a flock grower or raiser feed will have more protein than a layer feed, also there are feather fixer formula's available that have higher protein (in the 18 - 20% range). If you switch to a non-layer feed, make sure you are offering oyster shell in a separate feeder, free choice all the time. The non-layer feeds don't have enough calcium for laying hens, but they will take the shell when they need it. Those feeds are better for mixed flocks with roosters anyway, the roo's don't need the extra calcium and getting too much over the long term can cause health problems for them like kidney problems and gout.

 

[HH.Wench]

Thanks all for the info. She has been separated from the rooster at her former home and is in with my gentle boys now. She has access to oyster, but I will start upping her protein for sure.

Sounds like no one uses anything topical to treat the bald patch.

 

[coach723]

Unless there was an open wound, I would just leave it alone.
And you're welcome!

 

[Chelsa'sChicks]

I agree with Coach723 .. unless there is a wound I would leave it alone. My hen had no wounds and I did not put sunscreen on her, bacteria sticks to it and if they have shade they won't cook themselves in the sun. My hens feathers fully were back in 1-1.5 months time. Also she did not molt, only her back feathers grew in. All other feathers stayed the same.