Hens mounted too often and have open sores from Roo's claws.

[kiwi-chookn]

Hi there,my hens have sores from the roo mounting them too often.
What shoudl i do?
Cull and feed to my dogs?
Try a medication?
They seem fine,but they must be hurting.
thyere not fly blowen or anything.
Any help appreciated.

 

[spish]

get them some chicken saddles...its like a little coat for chickens that protcts their backs/sides/wings from the roos claws.


or trim the roo's spurs/remove them

 

[TheFarmMama]

No need to cull them-seperate them for a few days if possible and put some neosporin on their sores. Lots of chicken owners experience this issue with overly active roosters, including myself. How many hens to roos do you have in your pen? You can purchase something called a "chicken saddle" which can be placed over her back to protect her from his claws during mating. You can find these at www.hensaver.com and various other places on the internet. Hope that helps

 

[kiwi-chookn]

Im in New Zealand so I doubt many places would sell them.
I have around 20 hens to one roo,hes a cobb,the US equivilent to a Cornish ive been told.
The sores are the size of a fist,on three of the cobb hens,they are the bigger slower breed,so theyre easy for him to catch and deal with in his nasty way.
The brown shavers seem fine,and do the orps

 

[spish]

look on ebay for the chicken saddles..they can be posted worldwid. theres also a lovely lady on this forum that makes them and posts worldwide...have a look in the buy and sell section

she's also way cheaper than buying them off the shops on the net

 

[Beekissed]

I cull the hens with constant bare backs. This takes care of the problem. The only breed I've ever had that had this problem was Buff Orpingtons....they also ate too much and didn't lay steady, so the decision was an easy one. In my case, it wasn't the roo that was the problem...it was overeager hens.

Sounds like you have the same problem if you have several chickens that don't have bare backs and only a few that do.

 

[Clay Valley Farmer]

Trim/blunt the roos spurs and even nails a little, but should also cage him for a bit to let the hens recover.

Treat the hens wounds, clean sterilize and antibiotic cream. As long as infection is kept at bay they should heal up.

 

[Judy]

I just make saddles out of scraps of Polarfleece. Just an oval with two oblong holes for the wings. You only need about 3" between the wings. Cut two or three and try them on and you will have the shape down pat. Free and readily available. Here we can pick up a yard of polarfleece at walmart for a couple of bucks, or you could use an old garment. I have two chickens wearing them right now.

It does not tear or ravel at the edges, so no sewing needed, just a pair of scissors.

 

[Ridgerunner]

This thread has patterns for chicken saddles. You can make them yourself.

Chicken Saddle Patterns
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=407575

I agree with Beekissed. With 1 rooster and 20 hens and only a few having the problem, I'd think it is more likely something with the hens than the rooster. I've had several different breeds go barebacked. When I replace the hens in my laying/breeding flock, these are the first to be replaced.

I've also trimmed the spurs and blunted the claws of the rooster, which helped keep the problem from getting worse. You can use the search feature and find some methods. I used the dremel cutting tool myself and it was easy. Just wrap the rooster in a towel to control his wings and trim away. If you only take off about a third of the spur and the tips of the claws, you should not get any blood, but a small bit of flour to stop the bleeding may be something good to have around. As long as you don't get too deep, it is no worse than cutting toenails to him. I did get a bit deep on one and he still did not even flinch. He obviously suffered no ill effects.

Good luck!

 

[Judy]

Thank you, Ridgerunner, one of those webpages is where I got the polarfleece idea, but I had lost this link (along with numerous other.)