Got a question about roosters. I have 7 hens now, but my rooster is young and a bit aggressive with my two young leghorn girls. I had somebody tell me to take a fingernail clipper and clip his lower beak a tiny bit at the end so he cannot grab the feathers to pull out like he has been. Has anybody heard of this and do you recommend it?
I have never heard that before. I do not believe in trimming beaks unless it is to help with a medical condition such as scissor beak and you are trying to improve their being able to eat. When boys start trying to mate with the girls it can look really rough as they haven't got the moves down yet. The girls make a huge fuss as normally the girls are not ready when the boys are. All that can make a person that is not use to it think the boys are too aggressive. Give him some time to learn and the girls time to accept him as their guy. When roosters mount a hen they grab the back of her neck to hold on and grab her back with their feet pushing her into postion. A new rooster will be ackward and loose his balance while he is figuring out how to keep his balance while mating. Sometimes he can pull the girls feathers out while ackwardly trying to get her to submit and get in position. Eventually the rooster gets it down, the girls start laying which makes them more interested in the rooster, or if the hens are already laying they finally accept him, and the ritual is much gentler to the girl.
How long does this take? My hens can't take this rough treatment. One hen had a quarter size area snatched free of feathers. This has been going on for several months now. Quote:
