Hen aggresive after mating

[Annalyse]

Our Rooster is an aggresive mater and he waits for them in the morning to get out of the coop and then chases them to mate them. They know this and either run or jump over him. When he does mate them they immediately shake it off which is normal but then today my one hen was mean after it she shook herself off and as another hen walked by she jumped her for a second and was like giving attitude if that made sense. Most hens have feather loss due to mating but they’ll molt soon. How can I help the problem without getting rid of the rooster.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Our Rooster is an aggresive mater and he waits for them in the morning to get out of the coop and then chases them to mate them. They know this and either run or jump over him. When he does mate them they immediately shake it off which is normal but then today my one hen was mean after it she shook herself off and as another hen walked by she jumped her for a second and was like giving attitude if that made sense. Most hens have feather loss due to mating but they’ll molt soon. How can I help the problem without getting rid of the rooster.

Separate the rooster from the flock. If the rooster is being aggressive with hens he shouldn't be allowed to be with them. He's the problem not the hens reacting to his aggression.

 

[Shadrach]

Our Rooster is an aggresive mater and he waits for them in the morning to get out of the coop and then chases them to mate them. They know this and either run or jump over him. When he does mate them they immediately shake it off which is normal but then today my one hen was mean after it she shook herself off and as another hen walked by she jumped her for a second and was like giving attitude if that made sense. Most hens have feather loss due to mating but they’ll molt soon. How can I help the problem without getting rid of the rooster.

How old are these chickens?
How long have you had them?
How many of them are there?
The ambushing females when they leave the coop is pretty normal behaviour for a cockerel. Later once he's matured a bit this will calm down.

The shake you mention is the hen making sure the roosters sperm reaches her egg.
If this is a relatively new flock or a young flock it isn't unusual for hens to fight over who is to be the roosters favourite and who has the right to breed. This may account for the aggression you see between hens.

Feather loss is something that bothers humans more then it does the hens ime.
Better not to have it and filing (Not Cutting) the rooster toenails and the points of his spurs round may help with this.
Some hens seem more prone to feather damage than others. Having a rooster the same breed as the hens can also help.

The best solution of all is space, lots of space. Wiith lots of space in the right environment the chickens can avoid each other. In a coop and run this is almost impossible.

 

[Annalyse]

How old are these chickens?
How long have you had them?
How many of them are there?
The ambushing females when they leave the coop is pretty normal behaviour for a cockerel. Later once he's matured a bit this will calm down.

The shake you mention is the hen making sure the roosters sperm reaches her egg.
If this is a relatively new flock or a young flock it isn't unusual for hens to fight over who is to be the roosters favourite and who has the right to breed. This may account for the aggression you see between hens.

Feather loss is something that bothers humans more then it does the hens ime.
Better not to have it and filing (Not Cutting) the rooster toenails and the points of his spurs round may help with this.
Some hens seem more prone to feather damage than others. Having a rooster the same breed as the hens can also help.

The best solution of all is space, lots of space. Wiith lots of space in the right environment the chickens can avoid each other. In a coop and run this is almost impossible.

The whole flock is 2 years. Turning 3 March 1st. I’ve had them since chicks. They are all different breeds. The Rooster is a Swedish flower he was supposed to be a female when I got him but I fell in love with him so I didn’t get rid of him. I have a BO, 2 Plymouth Rocks, an Australorp, starlight green egger and a silkie. So 7 in total. My rooster has very long spurs but he hates his feet touched and I’m the only one allowed to hold him to filing his spurs would be hard. One of his spurs acually fell off half way but someone said that’s okay. His other is still ling and his toe nails are also very long. How should I file them? They have i would say plenty of space but they do come out and free range when supervised but no matter how much space they have they always like to be by eachother.

 

[Shadrach]

Thanks. I've got a better picture now.
Take him off his roost at night, wrap a towel around his wings and loosely cover his head without restricting his air. File the toenails with an ordinary nail file.
If they are very long then file off about one sixteenth of an inch each time.
It's something you may need to do on a regular basis.

The feather damage problem doesn't have a satisfactory solution imo. The hens won't want to be seperate from the rooster should you decide to confine him and he isn't going to like being confined.
This is a picture of an Ex Battery hen with feather loss due to mating. The rooster is a Light Sussex and far too big for her.

I don't intervene unless blood is drawn. If that continues then you have to either remove the rooster, or the hen permenantly. Hard choice.

The aggression between the hens I think is best seen as "I'll scratch her eyes out if I catch her having sex with my man." Some are more prone to violence than others.
Once again, unless blood is being spilt, chicken politics is best left to chickens.

 

[Annalyse]

Thanks. I've got a better picture now.
Take him off his roost at night, wrap a towel around his wings and loosely cover his head without restricting his air. File the toenails with an ordinary nail file.
If they are very long then file off about one sixteenth of an inch each time.
It's something you may need to do on a regular basis.

The feather damage problem doesn't have a satisfactory solution imo. The hens won't want to be seperate from the rooster should you decide to confine him and he isn't going to like being confined.
This is a picture of an Ex Battery hen with feather loss due to mating. The rooster is a Light Sussex and far too big for her.
View attachment 3195759

I don't intervene unless blood is drawn. If that continues then you have to either remove the rooster, or the hen permenantly. Hard choice.

The aggression between the hens I think is best seen as "I'll scratch her eyes out if I catch her having sex with my man." Some are more prone to violence than others.
Once again, unless blood is being spilt, chicken politics is best left to chickens.

Thank you. He does like sitting in my lap and getting scratched on the head so I might be able to hold him and have someone else file his feet. As long as he gets his treats he acts fine

 

[Shadrach]

The problem the rooster has is balance. If the hen doesn't crouch well then when the rooster has to hold on to the neck feathers more tightly than he might with another hen.
If the hen rocks under his weight; he may not have positioned his feet correctly, then the rooster rocks back and forth and this aggrevates the feather pulling due to the weight transfer.
Some roosters get the technique better than others. Henry, the rooster responsible for the feather damage in the picture is six years old and still can't get it right with the smaller Ex Battery hens. Strangely the Legbars who are also small either have stronger feathers, or say no more. Henry accepts a No without problem.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Thanks for the ages and other information, that helps. I have a slightly different take on the problem. A mature hen wants the potential father of her children to be worthy. She wants a rooster she can respect. For him to have to ambush them indicates to me that he does not have a strong enough personality to meet those requirements. Instead of winning them over with his magnificence or by the force of his personality he has to rely on brute force. If he were a young cockerel this could be expected and he would probably grow out of it but at over two years old he is just a wimp.

Was the hen that was mated and then attacked the other hen a dominant hen? In mating, the one on top is dominating the one on the bottom, either willingly or by force. A lot of the time the mating act has nothing to do with fertilizing eggs, it's more about showing dominance. I don't know what you mean by "showing attitude" but I could see something like "I know he took me but I'm still better than you".

I don't know what that feather damage looks like, those were Shad's photos. Some feather loss is normal, no big deal. If spots are getting bare then it gets more dangerous, it is possible a spur or more likely claw can cut the skin if they are on the back. If it is the back of the head then his beak can cause an injury when he grabs hold. Some of that could be bad technique or because it is by force. Some hens have brittle feathers that break easily, that's genetic. In my first flock I had two pullets/hens that were barebacked after they all matured. You probably don't want to hear this but I solved that by eating the girls. None of the others became barebacked and none of their chicks did either. If it were one or two of your hens that were having this problem I'd say brittle feathers were a possibility but it sounds like it is most or all of them. That's on your two year old boy.

So what can you do and keep the boy. Isolate him in a pen by himself. At this age I don't think he will ever grow out of it so this is a permanent solution. Or blunt his claws and one remaining spur. I wrap them as Shadrach said, in a sheet or large towel, lay him down, and hold onto the feet. The claws and spurs have a quick in them that will bleed if you nick it but that does not go all the way to the tip. Usually if I take off less than 1/4 of the length I miss the quick. I use a Dremel tool with one of those discs you use to cut metal. On the rare occasions I nick the quick the rooster does not even flinch and it was only a drop or two of blood. I think the heat of that cutting disc cauterizes the wound.

Good luck with it. This kind of thing can be hard.

 

[Annalyse]

The problem the rooster has is balance. If the hen doesn't crouch well then when the rooster has to hold on to the neck feathers more tightly than he might with another hen.
If the hen rocks under his weight; he may not have positioned his feet correctly, then the rooster rocks back and forth and this aggrevates the feather pulling due to the weight transfer.
Some roosters get the technique better than others. Henry, the rooster responsible for the feather damage in the picture is six years old and still can't get it right with the smaller Ex Battery hens. Strangely the Legbars who are also small either have stronger feathers, or say no more. Henry accepts a No without problem.

He is very clumsy with himself and both hen and rooster can’t balance correctly. I think it has to do with him being bigger but my PR is heavy and a thick girl and when he starts to rock she loses balance. He’s given up multiple times.

 

[Annalyse]

Thanks for the ages and other information, that helps. I have a slightly different take on the problem. A mature hen wants the potential father of her children to be worthy. She wants a rooster she can respect. For him to have to ambush them indicates to me that he does not have a strong enough personality to meet those requirements. Instead of winning them over with his magnificence or by the force of his personality he has to rely on brute force. If he were a young cockerel this could be expected and he would probably grow out of it but at over two years old he is just a wimp.

Was the hen that was mated and then attacked the other hen a dominant hen? In mating, the one on top is dominating the one on the bottom, either willingly or by force. A lot of the time the mating act has nothing to do with fertilizing eggs, it's more about showing dominance. I don't know what you mean by "showing attitude" but I could see something like "I know he took me but I'm still better than you".

I don't know what that feather damage looks like, those were Shad's photos. Some feather loss is normal, no big deal. If spots are getting bare then it gets more dangerous, it is possible a spur or more likely claw can cut the skin if they are on the back. If it is the back of the head then his beak can cause an injury when he grabs hold. Some of that could be bad technique or because it is by force. Some hens have brittle feathers that break easily, that's genetic. In my first flock I had two pullets/hens that were barebacked after they all matured. You probably don't want to hear this but I solved that by eating the girls. None of the others became barebacked and none of their chicks did either. If it were one or two of your hens that were having this problem I'd say brittle feathers were a possibility but it sounds like it is most or all of them. That's on your two year old boy.

So what can you do and keep the boy. Isolate him in a pen by himself. At this age I don't think he will ever grow out of it so this is a permanent solution. Or blunt his claws and one remaining spur. I wrap them as Shadrach said, in a sheet or large towel, lay him down, and hold onto the feet. The claws and spurs have a quick in them that will bleed if you nick it but that does not go all the way to the tip. Usually if I take off less than 1/4 of the length I miss the quick. I use a Dremel tool with one of those discs you use to cut metal. On the rare occasions I nick the quick the rooster does not even flinch and it was only a drop or two of blood. I think the heat of that cutting disc cauterizes the wound.

Good luck with it. This kind of thing can be hard.

He was mating my one PR and the dominant hen BO walked by and after the mating she did a quick jump peck and as another hen not dominant she did a quick chase and then stopped. And the feather damage. They all have minor damage on the back and neck but my Australorp her back is practically feather stubs and skin showing. My one PR has almost a naked neck.