She's gonna freeze

[countrygirl4513]

I have a hen that's basically naked from an attack. I worry she's gonna freeze this winter! Besides a high protein diet I need a way to keep her warm while free-ranging. I've thought of saddle cover but i don't know if that will work. Any ideas?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

She should grow back her feathers at some point. I've never seen a chicken not grow them back, but I suppose it could happen. How cold do you get?

 

[countrygirl4513]

I'm in Tennessee. It's been a year nearly since she lost her feathers from the attack. But she's the "go to" for the roosters and they've been rough on her. So even if she wanted to grow them back she couldn't I don't believe.

 

[Rick589]

roosters

How many? How many hens?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

She will never grow her feathers back if the roosters keep over mating her. I personally would remove them all so she gets a break from it all.

 

[Rick589]

She will never grow her feathers back if the roosters keep over mating her. I personally would remove them all so she gets a break from it all.

100% with you on this.

 

[countrygirl4513]

100% with you on this.

2 roosters 30 hens. That's why I don't understand why they concentrate on her.

 

[MamaPoult]

I like to give my hens the pelletized Rooster Booster with added Garlic and oregano spice and oats! This seems to really help grow them back. I also have a mating saddle on one of my hens who has a bare back that she seems to appreciate

 

[Rick589]

2 roosters 30 hens. That's why I don't understand why they concentrate on her.

Wow, that definitely is a good ratio. Is it possible to isolate her for extended periods to give her a chance to recover? If she’s the ‘go to’ she may just need to made the ‘no go’.

 

[Rick589]

I like to give my hens the pelletized Rooster Booster with added Garlic and oregano spice and oats! This seems to really help grow them back. I also have a mating saddle on one of my hens who has a bare back that she seems to appreciate

I had the same issue with bear backed hens. In our case we had too many roosters at one point (2 roos, 4 hens) and the hens took a solid beating and are still mending nearly a year after our ratio was fixed. We tried saddles prior to removing one of the roosters and found that it seemed to make things worse for the hens so we took them off. With the removal of one roo and the saddles things began to improve, albeit slowly.