birds wont use their protectors

[marvun22]

I have a rooster who has ripped feathers off the back and sides of 3 of my buff orpingtons. I ordered hen protectors from crazy k farm. the problem is that they go crazy right when I put them on. I'm thinking about just sticking it on them tonight. It might be too loose, because I ordered XL. Do any of you guys have experience with a destructive rooster? How do you fix it? Have any of you guys used the hen protectors on crazy k farms? Do the chickens eventually get used to them? Are there alternate solutions if these don't work?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I have not used them but having the right ratio of hens to roos usually solves things. Heavy breeds about 1 to 8-10. Light breeds 1 to 12 or so.

 

[marvun22]

i have 1 rooster and 16 hens.

 

[bj taylor]

I had a big problem with my rooster tearing up my hens. my numbers were way out of wack. every time I tried to get my numbers of girls up, I ended up with more little rooster.
my rooster was a jersey giant (about 12 plus pounds). when I bought him, he was sold to me as an australorp. he was huge. I tried to rehome him - he was a good rooster. I eventually had to cull him. the girls were getting too damaged.
i'm still working on getting the number of girls up to a level to handle a rooster again.

I was seriously considering the chicken saddles, but here it gets so hot, I didn't think they could handle it.

 

[ll]

Rehome the rough rooster and try again with one that is kinder to your hens.
Good luck!

 

[marvun22]

I'm not sure what to say. He is nice to almost all of them except 3 of my buffs and my black australorp. And just to tell you I put the saddles on the birds. They sure don't like them, but they can't get them off.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

They might have to just get used to it. Dogs don't always want to wear collars, harnesses or coats at first, either. Birds don't always want to wear harnesses, flight suits or saddles at first, either. Sometimes, chickens or parrots need time to get used to things. It can help to give snacks as a diversion, when first putting attire on.

Even with enough hens, you might be seeing more damage on a few that are his favorites. They might also just be more submissive to him than some of the other hens, so he spends more time with them. Or are you saying that he breeds with all of them, but is only rough with these? If they don't submit and he's forcing himself on them, that could be why they are losing feathers in the tussle. Some roosters have better technique with their hens, while mounting them. Some court until the hen submits and some force themselves on the hen.

How do his claws and his spurs look? Sometimes a trim can help. Shortening and blunting.

 

[Mehjr10]

They will get used to them give them a bit of time to do so and the smart ones will figure a way to take them off. You may want to husk your roos spurs, you can do this with a pair of pliers squeeze the base of the spur with the pliers for a few 15 seconds or so while gently pushing in, then gently twist and the outer shell of the spur will pop off.. I then usually hit it with a little bit of bluekote..

 

[marvun22]

I solved the problem. The problem is that I ordered XL saddles (to make sure it fit everybody). They were way to big and they made the birds dread them. I tied twine around them to secure the saddle to them and they are perfectly fine with them now. (don't worry the twine isn't too tight) Thanks everybody for helping.