Solutions for rooster’s favorite hen...

[chickenbritt5908]

Remove the rooster.

I'm not being smart - I know of no way to prevent a hen's baldness when a rooster is involved. Over time, as he's mounting her and grabbing onto the head, those tiny little feathers get pulled out. The only way I know to prevent it would be to remove the rooster.

I was thinking that would be the answer!

 

[chickenbritt5908]

Does he actually mount her more often that the others.....or might she just have weaker/brittle feathers that break more easily?

Ditto Dat^^^

Not sure about the feathers!

 

[chickenbritt5908]

From the photos it looks like Britt is talking about the back of her head, not her back or sides. When a mating takes place the rooster grabs the back of the hen's head. That's the signal for her to raise her tail out of the way to expose the target. Watch sometimes and you'll see what I'm talking about.

I don't know why her feathers are coming out and the other hens' feathers aren't. I also don't know how to stop it. I'd certainly keep an eye on it. The risk is that when he grabs her he cuts her with his beak. I don't think blucote or something like that would help since it is part of the mating act.

I don’t like the idea of removing him, although I realize that’s probably the only REAL solution for her. I like the other comments, as they do make sense, that it’s more bothersome for me than it is for her. However, if he does begin to cut her, I’ll remove him until she is healed up.