hens getting roughes up by roos

[StonyCreekCC]

I have 23 hens and 2 roosters. Recently I've noticed that the majority of my girls have small bald patches on the back of their heads. What can I do to help my girls from getting roughed up by my roos?

 

[Kelsie2290]

If you want to keep the roos, the easiest thing to do is probably separating them from the hens for a while. Either let them out for a time each day, or every couple of days. Are they young? Young roos tend to be overly amorous and take awhile to get their technique down, as they get more experienced they often will stop messing up the hens as much, and settle down. You also might want to watch and see if you can tell if it is one roo being rough or if they both are.

 

[StonyCreekCC]

Thank you so much for your input!

 

[donrae]

Little bald patches on the back of the head are a normal thing for a hen that lives with roosters, especially for younger birds. Older hens seem to toughen up the skin there and older roosters have better technique, so less feather loss. It doesn't harm the hens as long as the skin is intact.

 

[Happy Chooks]

How old are your roosters? If they are young, they may be a bit overzealous right now. As they age, they get better at mating and relax more. With that said, some roosters are harder on the hens than others.

 

[StonyCreekCC]

Everyone is under 1 year. The roosters are maybe a couple weeks-1 month older than the hens.

Thanks everyone. Glad to know everything is normal. I did pull out one hen that was getting beat up by every one. She's set up in a small shed type thing I have with a makeshift run attached to it. Once her feathers grow back completely she'll probably be given to my in-laws. They have a smaller flock and they free range. Sometimes I feel bad for keeping mine penned up but they are definitely safer from all the stray dogs, coyotes, and bobcats we have in the area.