Hen Limping After Possible Over-Mating — Need Care Advice

[Beau plus penny]

Hi everyone,
I’m looking for some advice.


I have a flock of 13 hens with 1 rooster (Jack). He’s a good rooster overall, but I’ve noticed some of my hens are starting to look a bit over-mated. I suspect he may be too rough or is favoring certain hens. I am planning to increase the flock in 2026, but if the higher hen ratio doesn’t solve the issue, I may need to re-home him.


Today I isolated my Rhode Island Red hen because she started limping and is laying down a lot. I’m guessing she may have strained or injured her leg/hip while being mated. There’s no visible wound, and she can move the leg, but she prefers not to put weight on it.


She’s currently in a quiet pen with soft bedding, feed, and water.


My Questions:

• Is there anything more I can do to help her heal?
• How long should I keep her separated?
• Would a chicken saddle or trimming Jack’s spurs help reduce future injuries?
• Has anyone had a rooster who over-mates even with 10+ hens — and did adding more hens actually help?

Any advice is appreciated. I just want to make sure she gets the care she needs and that the rest of the flock stays safe.


Thank you!

 

[50-45-1]

Check her over for injuries.
Does your rooster have spurs?
I have had hens injured by spurs in their sides. Also I had one with a broken leg once. Not sure how she got it though.
I just separated her to a hutch for a few weeks and she slowly began to walk normally.

 

[Beau plus penny]

Check her over for injuries.
Does your rooster have spurs?
I have had hens injured by spurs in their sides. Also I had one with a broken leg once. Not sure how she got it though.
I just separated her to a hutch for a few weeks and she slowly began to walk normally.

he has spurs but they are small

 

[Eggcessive]

His spurs are small. If he gets sharp ones later you may want to trim them slightly and file them down to prevent slice injuries under the hen’s wings. Those can be very deep and bad. Young roosters can overmate hens. The more docile ones may have more feather loss. You could separate the rooster for part of each day, or for some time to let her heal. Hen saddles are helpful when there is feather loss. I made some one piece ones that required no sewing, and all held on by the wings, and polar fleece worked well. If you don’t separate, keep your pullet in a wire dog crate with food and water near the others for a few days, and having low roosts can be helpful.

 

[Fluffy_Butt_Hutt]

Have you checked for bumblefoot yet? Touching the leg to see if she reacts like she's in pain anywhere might be a good idea to finalize the idea if she sprained her ankle or not.

 

[Beau plus penny]

His spurs are small. If he gets sharp ones later you may want to trim them slightly and file them down to prevent slice injuries under the hen’s wings. Those can be very deep and bad. Young roosters can overmate hens. The more docile ones may have more feather loss. You could separate the rooster for part of each day, or for some time to let her heal. Hen saddles are helpful when there is feather loss. I made some one piece ones that required no sewing, and all held on by the wings, and polar fleece worked well. If you don’t separate, keep your pullet in a wire dog crate with food and water near the others for a few days, and having low roosts can be helpful.

she is in our home made brooder from feb

 

[OkieBirdFam]

• Is there anything more I can do to help her heal?
  • check her over thoroughly for any injuries. If you find any minor ones, rinse with Vetrycin and apply an anti-biotic (w/o pain relief) to the wound. For serious ones, a vet would probably be best - or the advice from a more experienced chicken owner! A warm Epsom salt bath always seems to help ease whatever my birds are going through and certainly won't hurt anything.
• How long should I keep her separated?
  • This is going to depend on what's causing the foot/leg issue. Even if you separate the rooster for a few days to give the ladies a break, the other hens might see her as weak and bully her all the same. Check to see if the foot feels warm when you touch it - that could be a sign of infection, Bumblefoot or otherwise.
• Would a chicken saddle or trimming Jack’s spurs help reduce future injuries?
  • Yes and yes! We have the exact same rooster to hen ratio as you and do both of those to help manage our flock. We bought our saddles via amazon from a brand called Down Under Outdoors! You can trim his nails as well since his spurs aren't too long yet.
• Has anyone had a rooster who over-mates even with 10+ hens — and did adding more hens actually help?
  • I haven't had that particular experience, so someone else may bet better to weigh in. We used to have 3 roosters and 15 hens and it didn't work for us. I think the general rule of thumb is 1:10 ratio, but I personally think it depends on the rooster as well. We kept the smallest, gentlest rooster (he's a Rhode Island) and rehomed the others. One was a Barred Rock and just way to big to be mounting our smaller breeds (in my opinion) and the other was an Easter Egger and borderline aggressive (maybe too much competition).

Hope this helps and best of luck to you, your Red, and Jack!