Hens getting pecked on head by Roo

[McGoo]

My roo has a habit of pecking at the girls when he's doing the deed. One hen in particular has ended up all naked on one side of her head. She has also gotten sores. He also really scratches them up on their backs

I put aprons on two of the gals, but this one poor BO I just now put Blue kote on in hopes that he'll stop the pecking. (also after he's pecked at her, one of the hens has started to peck at her too)

Can this type of roo behavior be stopped? Is this typical? Ideas on what to do are appreciated.

Chickens are not in a small quarters, they have 1/2 of an acre in which to roam.

thanks

 

[Wolf-Kim]

It's normal for the roosters to grab a mouthful of feathers and skin to pin the ladies down, but I've never seen mine do a "pecking".

How many hens to roosters do you have? What kind of hens and what kind of roosters?

As for the scratching backs, is it the rooster's spurs doing the scratching? If so there are a few good sources on how to trim spurs.

-Kim

 

[McGoo]

Kim,
I only have 5 hens to 1 Roo at this time. The roo is a black sex-link and the gals are a mix. The ones that he's been pecking and pulling on is a Buff Orpington.

I am planning to trim/remove his spurs. Thanks for the sites.

ps. I have 10 little hatchlings from which I hope to get about 6 additional hens.

 

[chickenwoods]

I think that some roosters just are more violent then others in that situation..The roo i have now is real nice about it
but the last one i had was bad about it.

 

[McGoo]

Sad thing is that my roo is still young and I think I'm going to have to put him in the freezer if he doesn't get better. I did put blue kote on the hens head where all the feathers are gone so that he'd fine it distasteful. Oh and she's all torn up on the back as well so she's wearing an apron. I also put blue kote on some of the other hens to curb his behavior. We'll see. I might not be as forgiving when I see him go at her the next time.

 

[chickenwoods]

I would think that naturally..when he first found out about breeding he was crazy about it!! When he gets older it will be an obligation to do his job,and not to over do it for his likeing LOL

 

[Horseychick]

I too have a rooster who picks on one hen, he is a golden orpington and she is a black cochin. He is quite young but he is much more polite with the other ladies, this hen is the most docile though and just squats and takes his abuse. At the moment he is in a run on his own, the hens are free range but I did want to try to hatch chicks this year, (not managed so far!) Will the hen be OK on her own in the run? should I buy a pullet to keep her company, or might that be asking for trouble? Any advice would be gratefully received.

Thanks

 

[McGoo]

I don't think that I would leave one hen in a run with one roo, unless it's only for a short while. I would think that she would be the most worn out hen... Not sure if that was really what you were asking..

 

[peruvian_princess]

My RIR roo has always been gentle until we got the other 2 bantam mix roos. Now he doenst like the girls to even look in the direction of the other roos he gets mad and will repeatedly pin one in particular down. When I catch him doing this I hose him down real good!

 

[Horseychick]

Hi,
no I meant I'd let the cockerel out with the other hens and put the cochin in the run on her own. I don't know whether she would get upset by herself as the hens tend to pass the time of day together, she might miss the gossip. Do hens generally accept younger friends, or am I just going to make the problem worse? She has never shown any signs of going broody or I would buy her some eggs to hatch, she is a good layer though, so I'd rather eat the cockerel if it comes to it!