Sunburn

[cherwill]

I have a very, shall we say active, rooster and over the winter he managed to wear the feathers off the backs of most of the hens. Now they're sunburned. At least, it looks like sunburn; they're red! They have plenty of shade and access to the coop, but of course they don't know anything about sunburn so they wander around and get even redder. Some look like they should be in pain but they all act like they feel fine. Should I put them in a restricted, shade-only area or is there something else I can do to protect them?

 

[stargirl]

I've no experience of this, but I have a friend who has a very white cat and she has to put suncream on his extremeties in summer. Perhaps you could try using an all-day cream for the worst affected?

 

[CupOJoe42]

Maybe some aloe vera???

 

[Rocky Top Chick]

I have some just like that and I attribute it to hormones. Sunburn was my first thought until I started watching more closely. Sometimes they would be bright red, but a few minutes later she would be back to normal. At that point I stopped worrying and all is well.

 

[Godsgrl]

You could put hen saddles on them, that would block the sun, and allow new feathers to grow in. It also sounds like you have too few hens for your rooster.

 

[cherwill]

Thanks for the help. I read these to my husband and he likes the hormones explanation. He pointed out that they haven't blistered or peeled, so maybe it isn't really sunburn. They're finally starting to grow some feathers back, so that should help.

Yeah, we definitely have too few hens for Zander, but won't be able to add to our flock until next spring at the earliest. What is a good ratio? Right now we only have 5 or 6 hens for our rooster. One MIGHT be another rooster, but doesn't really look or act like one yet.

 

[Barnyard]

Quote:
Agree 100%

I don't believe it is sunburn, but instead really happy rooster