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I've already mentioned my experience with chickens but I'll repeat. I grew up with them as a primary source for food, eggs and meat. I was the oldest boy and all that implies from a chores basis. As soon as I was old enough, I was gathering eggs, feeding, handling broodies (very little actual handling involved except checking under them for new eggs daily), and delivering plucked and gutted carcasses to Mom when she wanted one to cook. I left that when I left home at 18. I've now had them for four years, since I retired. I don't raise them exactly like we did when I was growing up. I don't have five hungry kids to feed so I don't need nearly as many chickens and my predator pressure is a lot greater here. We all have different circumstances. We have to be able to handle what we now have, not wistfully dream of how we wish things were and not become so set in our ways we can't see what is going on.
I know this is a female dominated forum, but I'm going to throw out a radical thought anyway. I don't blame the rooster for every possible problem that can happen. I hold hens responsible too.
Some feather loss from mating is not a big deal. It is really not, whether that is the back of the head or on the back. When they start bleeding, which I've found to be pretty darn rare, it is a big deal. I handle this two different ways. With the larger totally free ranging flock I grew up with that always had at least one mature rooster in it, bare backs were never a problem. With a much smaller flock that sometimes only has an adolescent rooster with it, and that may be confined while I deal with a predator, it can be more of a problem.
If several hens are showing significant feather loss, it is when I have an adolescent rooster. I use a Dremel tool and blunt his spurs (what little he usually has) and blunt his claws. I don't try to take the entire spur off or all the toenails. Just blunt them. That's always taken care of things until he grows up.
When I have one or two hens that are severely barebacked and the rest are in good shape, I eat them. I'm not going to psychoanalyze why one or two hens are severely barebacked and the rest are fine. I just eliminate the problem. This has always solved the problem for me. Other hens do not suddenly become barebacked.
I eat my chickens. Sometimes it is easy to decide which chickens to eat. Once I decide which rooster I want, all others are available for the table. But I eat the excess pullets and hens too. Sometimes which ones I eat is a pretty easy choice. Sometimes there is not a lot of difference in them. If one goes out of her way to tell me she wants to be next, I'll honor her wishes. I had one that laid real well, almost an egg a day. But for two months, that egg was laid from the roost. It was hard figuring out which one that was, but I got it right. I once had an egg eater. That was a real easy choice and one that was made quickly. If one refuses to lay in the coop, she's trying to tell me something. If one is severely barebacked, I figure she is also volunteering.
If you don't eat your chickens and you really have a problem, then you have to solve it your way. I really don't care if you use a chicken saddle or come up with a different solution. That's your business. Tale care of it your way. I'll take care of my problems my way.
I've already mentioned my experience with chickens but I'll repeat. I grew up with them as a primary source for food, eggs and meat. I was the oldest boy and all that implies from a chores basis. As soon as I was old enough, I was gathering eggs, feeding, handling broodies (very little actual handling involved except checking under them for new eggs daily), and delivering plucked and gutted carcasses to Mom when she wanted one to cook. I left that when I left home at 18. I've now had them for four years, since I retired. I don't raise them exactly like we did when I was growing up. I don't have five hungry kids to feed so I don't need nearly as many chickens and my predator pressure is a lot greater here. We all have different circumstances. We have to be able to handle what we now have, not wistfully dream of how we wish things were and not become so set in our ways we can't see what is going on.
I know this is a female dominated forum, but I'm going to throw out a radical thought anyway. I don't blame the rooster for every possible problem that can happen. I hold hens responsible too.
Some feather loss from mating is not a big deal. It is really not, whether that is the back of the head or on the back. When they start bleeding, which I've found to be pretty darn rare, it is a big deal. I handle this two different ways. With the larger totally free ranging flock I grew up with that always had at least one mature rooster in it, bare backs were never a problem. With a much smaller flock that sometimes only has an adolescent rooster with it, and that may be confined while I deal with a predator, it can be more of a problem.
If several hens are showing significant feather loss, it is when I have an adolescent rooster. I use a Dremel tool and blunt his spurs (what little he usually has) and blunt his claws. I don't try to take the entire spur off or all the toenails. Just blunt them. That's always taken care of things until he grows up.
When I have one or two hens that are severely barebacked and the rest are in good shape, I eat them. I'm not going to psychoanalyze why one or two hens are severely barebacked and the rest are fine. I just eliminate the problem. This has always solved the problem for me. Other hens do not suddenly become barebacked.
I eat my chickens. Sometimes it is easy to decide which chickens to eat. Once I decide which rooster I want, all others are available for the table. But I eat the excess pullets and hens too. Sometimes which ones I eat is a pretty easy choice. Sometimes there is not a lot of difference in them. If one goes out of her way to tell me she wants to be next, I'll honor her wishes. I had one that laid real well, almost an egg a day. But for two months, that egg was laid from the roost. It was hard figuring out which one that was, but I got it right. I once had an egg eater. That was a real easy choice and one that was made quickly. If one refuses to lay in the coop, she's trying to tell me something. If one is severely barebacked, I figure she is also volunteering.
If you don't eat your chickens and you really have a problem, then you have to solve it your way. I really don't care if you use a chicken saddle or come up with a different solution. That's your business. Tale care of it your way. I'll take care of my problems my way.
I just started reading this thread and I had to force myself to get away and work on the honeydoo.It is the best thread that I have ever read.I have been doing chickens almost 2 years now and I love raising them.I look at it like this.People are always wanting to improve something and that isn't always the best thing to do.Sometimes letting nature do it's thing(especially with animals) is the best thing for them.We have gotten into the baby,pamper everything and that isn't good.Sometimes changes are need for the best,but most of the time not.The good Lord has always provided his animals with what they need to survive.All I see that I need to do is provide them with shelter(basically that is because I took on the responsibility to take care of them)provide them food and water,and protect them.Common sense goes along way when raising animals.If you want animals to be strong and healthy you have to let their bodies and brains learn with experience,just as you do when raising the chickens.You can't pamper them young and expect them to be strong when they get older.It's called a teachable moment.I haven't been raising chickens that long but I have lived 57 years and sometimes different things in life go hand in hand.Thank you for this thread.
