Henpecked Rooster

[kittyvamp1884]

Hey y'all,
Our main rooster, Arslan (Silver Laced Wyandotte), looks a bit shabby these days... He's taken to just letting the ladies pluck him. They've plucked or broken almost all his hackle and saddle feathers, and they've taken all the lacing off his chest and wings... He stands there, drops his head, and lets them do it. My husband thinks he's letting them "get back at him" for the missing back feathers, but although funny, that's ridiculous. Does anyone else have a roo that just lets the ladies pluck him and any thoughts on why they're targeting male-specific & breed-specific feathers? He's the only SLW in a flock of predominantly RIR & PBR hens. The RIR's are the ones that pluck him.

Here's what he looked like before the plucking:
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...and now:

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Any thoughts would be awesome!

 

[CluckyandPeepsFlock]

Awww, he is very cute!
I may be wrong, but do you think there may be a chance that he is molting and that is why the feathers are able to be plucked away so easily?

 

[FunClucks]

Possible causes/contributors: space issues, boredom, protein level in diet, personality.

How many hens do you have and how do you manage them? Size of coop and run? Do they free range, if so how often and in how much space?

What are you feeding your flock (level of protein, type and brand of food, any treats - if so how much and what type)?

My production red hens are bad about eating each other's feathers and over-grooming the rooster also. In my case, I had too many chickens for the size of coop, and they were probably also bored and stressed over the winter.

Once the habit is established it can be really hard to break within a flock. Might try putting pinless peepers on everyone for a month or two, and see if that improves the behavior. Hopefully behavior improvement will last after the peepers are removed also, they're not meant to be a permanent solution. Best to find the root cause and fix it.

Also, some hens may never quit and you may have to eat or rehome them.

In future, I'll be keeping my blue/colored eggers separately from my production red sex-links - my ISA Browns constantly pick on the smaller colored eggers, which are more flighty and nervous birds anyway.

 

[kittyvamp1884]

Awww, he is very cute!
I may be wrong, but do you think there may be a chance that he is molting and that is why the feathers are able to be plucked away so easily?

I thought that at first... The plucking began shortly after he successfully fought off a cooper hawk, so I was thinking stress molt. But, if you look closely, the feathers aren't "missing"... they're broken off. You can see the V shape at the end of the remaining feather. They've been taken off at the down/white...

 

[FunClucks]

Awww, he is very cute!
I may be wrong, but do you think there may be a chance that he is molting and that is why the feathers are able to be plucked away so easily?

Those feathers are being eaten, not plucked off at the root.

I could be wrong though, maybe the OP has seen feathers lying about.

 

[nuthatched]

Looks bit like depluming mites or genetic/dietary issues.

 

[kittyvamp1884]

How many hens do you have and how do you manage them? Size of coop and run? Do they free range, if so how often and in how much space?

What are you feeding your flock (level of protein, type and brand of food, any treats - if so how much and what type)?

In addition to the rooster in question, we have:
- 9 adult hens (4 RIRs and 5 PBRs)
- 2 pullets (4 months 1 Buff Orp and one Black Aus)
- 1 cockerel (4 months Light Brahma)

The coop is 4'x6' with ~15' of roost space.
The enclosed run is 9'x15, but they free-range all day. We never close them into the run unless we have to leave and won't be back before dark... so they have about 1/3 acre to run around on from dawn to dusk.

For feed:
I do a 50-50 mix of:
1. New Country Organics Corn-Free Turkey Grower (23% protein)
2. Scratch and Peck Naturally Free Organic Grower Feed (17% protein)
...for an overall of ~20%. They also get table scraps that include meats, and 1-2 cups of soldier-fly larvae per day, so it's a bit higher than that... I could always go higher, but I usually try to stick around 20-22%

 

[Mrs. K]

I too, think that it is depluming feather mites. Google that, and see how the feathers look.

Mrs K

 

[kittyvamp1884]

I too, think that it is depluming feather mites. Google that, and see how the feathers look.

Mrs K

I have one hen that looks like she might have these, so I appreciate the suggestion, and I'll look into treating her.

This doesn't, however, look like what is happening with our rooster. I've seen a hen picking him, and eating the feathers. He doesn't seem bothered at all by his plumage, and is just submitting to grooming that goes entirely too far. I've just never had a rooster that allowed a hen to strip him like this.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Possible causes/contributors: space issues, boredom, protein level in diet, personality.

How many hens do you have and how do you manage them? Size of coop and run? Do they free range, if so how often and in how much space?

What are you feeding your flock (level of protein, type and brand of food, any treats - if so how much and what type)?

My production red hens are bad about eating each other's feathers and over-grooming the rooster also. In my case, I had too many chickens for the size of coop, and they were probably also bored and stressed over the winter.

Once the habit is established it can be really hard to break within a flock. Might try putting pinless peepers on everyone for a month or two, and see if that improves the behavior. Hopefully behavior improvement will last after the peepers are removed also, they're not meant to be a permanent solution. Best to find the root cause and fix it.

Also, some hens may never quit and you may have to eat or rehome them.

In future, I'll be keeping my blue/colored eggers separately from my production red sex-links - my ISA Browns constantly pick on the smaller colored eggers, which are more flighty and nervous birds anyway.

Those feathers are being eaten, not plucked off at the root.

I could be wrong though, maybe the OP has seen feathers lying about.

I agree, they are being nipped off.

If it were depluming mites, he'd be pulling out his own feathers, have raw areas and scratching constantly.

Not standing calmly and letting the ladies nip off the tips of his feathers. It can become a bad habit.

They've plucked or broken almost all his hackle and saddle feathers, and they've taken all the lacing off his chest and wings... He stands there, drops his head, and lets them do it.