Death by breeding?

[Pineywoods]

Hi, predation has taken the flock down from 20 to 4 hens and I found one of the reds dead in the coop. No predators are getting inside. The hens have been picked off over months in the woods during the day. I have 3 roosters and they’re too mean to get killed I guess. So now the question. I think the hen died from infection from the scratching on her back from the Roos. I brought my other red home to nurse and she had smelly wounds on her back. I am rearing 20 more replacement hens. What’s the MAX roo to hen ratio to avoid physical injury like this?

 

[Poultrybonkers]

I just culled a hen that had that problem roo was also culled even more hens same problem will happen if they prefer that hen

 

[MysteryChicken]

If you wanna keep the roosters, put them in their own separate area until the new ladies are ready, then reintroduce them later.

This will give the remaining ladies a well deserved break.

 

[Bonwell]

Are you planning to just keep letting them into the woods during the day? Cause the predators won't stop picking them off especially now that they've gotten used to it.

 

[Tonyroo]

Are you raising chickens to feed the wildlife? You didn't mention any prevention to keep them safe.

 

[Pineywoods]

I think I’m going down to one rooster to minimize the back attacks. We hatched our own eggs last go round and that’s the only reason we had 3.

LONG POST SORRY
On the predation - hawks are the only predators I have seen first hand in the day. It made a bombing run but that time failed to get a bird. Coons and bobcats caught on the coop cam but never in the day. We are not full time at the farm. If we were I don’t know if the dogs and humans would deter the hawks anyway. Maybe the jersey giants will prove too big too mess with since I have never lost a rooster. We’ll see. The alternative is for the chickens to live their entire life in a 40 foot run. Right now we’re opting to let them range a couple days a week and seeing if we reach a balance with only an occasional loss. It’s only been 2 years that we’ve owned the farm. I had a coon family wipe out the flock once. That I managed to remedy. First time dealing with the hawks. We also have a neighbors barn cat that I’ve seen several times. Also contributing I’m sure (but that one is curable).

Any ideas on the predation other than lockdown let me know.

 

[Ascholten]

The Red Tail hawks can get HUGE, I got one out here that looks like an eagle. They will snap down and grab the birds. I find hawks are more a pest during winter months, im guessing probably because food is getting scarcer. There are ways to address that Issue. I'll leave you to your own imagination, but check laws in your area too concerning hawks so you don't run afowl of them. The problem with hawks is, as is with most predators, once they get something there they WILL be back, until there is a reason not to.

Unless you have a lotta lot of chickens, a 40 foot run is fine for them. Some breeds do better caged up than others, you can do your research on that as well and find a suitable bird for what you want, food / eggs .vs. tolerating caging.

Aaron

 

[Pineywoods]

Thanks. If I see a recurring visitor I’ll try to remove them. Within local regs of course. Otherwise if predation remains excessive to where I lose more than 2-3 hens we’ll likely just leave them in the run. We do enjoy watching them chase the hoppers and run around but don’t want to raise chicks every year.