Do they need a break?

[Cephus]

Hi all. I have a flock of 5 ladies and one rooster, (King). King looks wonderful full feathers, great color, healthy as a, well, a rooster i guess. But my concern is for my girls.. All of their feathers on their backs are gone.. And they are getting pretty used up looking. Should i seperate them from him?.. And if so, how long? Thanks for any experience y'all can share.

 

[Pyxis]

You don't have enough hens for your rooster. You'll want to either get rid of the rooster, or get more hens. The preferable ratio is ten hens to one rooster. In the meantime, splitting them up is a good idea, and you may want to get your girls some hen saddles.

 

[Mrs. K]

How do the hens act? In my experience bare backs bother people worse than chickens. Do the hens like him? If so, you can just leave the set up, when they molt they will grow in new feathers. They won't grow new feathers until they molt. Last year, mine were all bare backed, this year same set up, and while they have a ruffle mark, no real bare backs. The rooster must have gotten a bit better technique.

Go with how your girls act, if they are in a tension situation and hate the rooster, pull him. If they are fine and comfortable, just wait for the fall molt.

Mrs K

 

[Cephus]

Thank you both for your input.. I didn't know there was a ratio.. As for their behavior, i think they likevhim just fine.. They all free range during the day together and have no problem being in proximity to him.. He just struts around and acts like tuff guy if you harass his ladies in any way. Haha. But, they seem to like him just fine..

 

[bobbi-j]

Ah, "the ratio"... As has been stated in other threads, the "ratio" really is what is recommended for large breeding facilities for optimum fertility. In a backyard flock, you could have ten or twenty hens for your rooster and still have some barebacked hens. Sometimes the rooster has favorites for some reason or another. If your hens seem happy and not stressed, I would follow Mrs. K's advice and just leave things be.