California - Northern

[chrissyr]

Those of you with over amorous roos who love their ladies, be sure to keep a close eye on your girls. I have a splash Langshan hen who was easy and she let all the boys have their way with her. I'm only out at the farm once a week and I didn't realize how bad it was until it was almost too late. I knew that she was looking bare backed and a week later when I went to check on them, she was acting like she didn't feel well. She had a horrible abscess on the top of her leg where the roo/roos had dug into her. I brought her back into town and nursed her with Vetericyn. (That stuff is amazing IMO! And I use it on myself, too, Ron!) The abscess healed but she wouldn't use her leg. She just hopped around and earned the name Hop-a-long Cassidy. I started doing physical therapy with her in hopes that she would regain the use of her leg. A few weeks later, she was acting sick again. I checked her over very carefully and found another abscess buried under feathers on the underneath part of her lame upper leg. Vetericyn healed that up but she really doesn't use her leg. I have her in the aviary with the young birds along with another chicken with gimp feet. Her feathers have grown back beautifully! DH was thinking that we should put her down but she is one of my few chickens that is actually laying eggs right now. She is healthy except for her leg and is living the pampered life away from the big girls and the boys. I wish that I had put aprons on my hens before this happened to Cass. That or penned the roos up separate from the hens. All but 3 of those lover boy roos are now residing in freezer camp so that has helped with the over breeding of the hens. Some of my Langshan hens show no sign of worn feathers from breeding. I'm thinking that they are the smart ones who run under the trailer coop when the boys go for them.

Thank you PetRock, I think that sometimes we don't realize how bad it can get. I only have 2 turnout pens, but i'm thinking of putting my boys there for at least SOME part of the days. I'd been kind of waiting, hoping it won't escalate. But you're post makes total sense. I'm also wondering if i trim the boys' toenails. wondering if that would do any good.

 

[OR4-hmom]

I trim the boys toenails often and finish them off with the dremel to make sure I've gotten the sharp spots. Spurs need to be watched also, my barred rock had spurs that were over 3 inches long but the curve of them protected the hens from injury.

 

[alibra]

Has anyone noticed a pattern with roosters that over breed/ abuse the hens, like certain breeds have a higher drive?

 

[Audio51]

OK, I know what I want for Christmas now! Or my birthday, which is 3 days after... Now if someone would just lay something!

HenSavers (found at source site www.hensaver.com and on Amazon.com!) offer wing/shoulder protectors on hen saddles. (Personally, I like to call them "aprons" instead of saddles because that's so much more lady-like.)

Anyway, they protect wing shoulders very well.

I have two Egg Skelters, a LF size and one for bantam eggs. Bought 'em over two years ago.... I chose the silver/gray ones, so the eggs are the focus. I didn't want to have contrasting colors in anything but the eggs.

Wow...they come in different colors AND different sizes? I only say the bigger red ones. I only have one banty and she is not laying yet so I will probably look into the begger one only. But the silver one would go great in my kitchen!

 

[ronott1]

I sold 2 cull pullets tonight. I'm taking them to a family that has a flock of 3 in the morning, so now they will have 5. They will be free ranging spoiled hens by their 2 daughters.

I sold two pita pintas and a Basque hen to a family in Davis at the end of summer. They love them!

The oldest daughter is 17.

Congratulations on getting your numbers down!

 

[chrissyr]

I trim the boys toenails often and finish them off with the dremel to make sure I've gotten the sharp spots. Spurs need to be watched also, my barred rock had spurs that were over 3 inches long but the curve of them protected the hens from injury.

Hmm.. I may have to raid DH tool box. That is a great idea! Do you have any issues with bare backs or do you think it's helped dramatically ?

 

[OR4-hmom]

The barred rock is not overly amorous, since he is the first rooster I've ever had I was impressed by his dancing for the hens, giving treats to the hens before eating any himself.

We had a Dutch bantam roo in with other large hens and they are still wearing tattered feathers all over their backs. He was tiny but much rougher on the girls.

 

[lawatt]

The barred rock is not overly amorous, since he is the first rooster I've ever had I was impressed by his dancing for the hens, giving treats to the hens before eating any himself.

We had a Dutch bantam roo in with other large hens and they are still wearing tattered feathers all over their backs. He was tiny but much rougher on the girls.

so far Max (swedish flower hen) and Jack (birchen marans) have both been incredibly well-behaved with the girls, despite both being quite large -- both dance and give treats and haven't caused any missing feathers so far. Harold the cream legbar, who was smaller, was far more, um, eager, and pulled some head feathers off one of the campine girls before i separated him into his own pen. (he and Max have both now moved on to new households) -- and the other two cockerels that are coming of age, Blue (isbar) and Frank (campine), haven't started mating yet.

 

[gryeyes]

Thanks Bunches!!! Buckbeak thanks you too, I am sure she is tired of having nekked shoulders.  
Speaking of Mottled Javas which I was but you weren't Are you IRL friends with Hhanbasket (I may very well be butchering the name)  I thought I remembered you posting about them and some chicken/social related thing.  Anyway, does she have MJ? 

Yes, HHandbasket and her DH, Farmer_Lew are my friends IRL. We just had dinner together at The Pub this evening. She has a couple MJ she got from another local BYCer, but they aren't in a breeding program. She is going to order some more White Faced Black Spanish this Spring, from Ideal Poultry, I think. I will go in on her order (to fill the 25 chick minimum) with 10 somethings. Haven't decided yet what I want from hatchery stock, but I wish I hadn't given away my Cinnamon Queens (RSL) a year or so ago, I may hope for some more of them. They were such sweet, docile, prolific layers.

 

[member 142084]

I only let my gentlemen roosters in with the hens now. They were getting out of hand. Now that things have cooled down all their feathers have grown back in. The other roos are in their own pen. Later they will be sold or butchered. You only need 1 roo for about 10 hens. I find that sometimes its roosting roo too that causes hens to peck each other while they roost. So if you have gentlemen roos, it could mean that you are overcrowded, and the third thing is molting, of course.