SQ=Show Quality.
With my hatchery birds I have certainly had treading issues. How old is your rooster? I feel like it is not as much hatchery stock as just annoying rooster. Mine just turned a year old and are calming down.
Thanks - I knew I'd have a palm-to-forehead when I got the SQ answer, and I did. My birds will be a year old in June, so I'm giving him the excuse of teenage hormones. When he was free ranging with the girls he would call them, tidbit them, gather them up with warning calls and was overall learning to be a gentleman. Wondering if feather quality could be part of it?? I would eventually like to have 12 hens to 1 roo, instead of 8. Although I'm pleased with the chickens overall, the more I learn about hatcheries the less I want to go back. And I'm still wanting to find some old timers who can tell me if treading the feathers off was common back before hatcheries were so huge. Thanks for your comments.