Hi, I am a new member

[maries]

Hi, I have had chickens for over a two years now. Mostly black austrailorpes hens, 3 buff orpingtons, 2 partridge chanticleres, 2 minorcas and a beautiful well mannered blue cochin rooster and a young black Austrailorpe rooster.

I have a problem. My rooster's 3 favorite hens have lost lots of feathers on their backs and head. I put "chicken saddles" on them to try and protect their backs, but their feathers haven't grown back after 2 months of using the saddles. I can't see any improvement (backs are featherless, and red, I am concerned about infection developing) and I am considering selling my roosters so my hens can recover.

The chickens are in a secure pen and don't need a rooster to protect them, but I love my beautiful big blue cochin roo, "General Tsao". He is gentle and sweet, (just a little rough on the back feathers).

Any suggestions??

Thanks so much,
MarieS

 

[sourland]

Is there any possibility that you could pen your roosters away from your hens?

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Hi

Glad you could join the flock! It's lovely to hear you have a well behaved roo. I too agree with sourland is there a way you could keep them in a pen to give your girls a break. It would be ashame for you to have rehome because of this.

Hope you can find a way around this problem. Good luck and enjoy BYC

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC!

 

[BuckAlorp]

Welcome Aboard.

 

[maries]

Thanks for the welcomes and quick replies.
There is a small section in the pen I could fence off during the day, but he'd have to join the flock to roost safely at night. I wouldn't want to put both roos in a small pen, The General would beat the young one up. (right now the young roo can out run The General and he just keeps his distance)
If I isolated The General he would feel terrible. He might crow excessively. The two have already started crowing back and forth a lot. (The younger roo was supposed to be a pullet chick)
I'll give it try, though, and tell you how it goes.
Thanks so much

 

[nj2wv]

welcome to BYC !!

 

[drumstick diva]

Maybe you could isolate the hens your rooster is overbreeding, so they can heal and regrow feathers. If your roo doesn't like the other hens he will have to be celibate for awhile. Actually one rooster can handle 10 hens, so if you got in some more hens for him he might be happier. Favorite hens tend to just be ones, that can't get away from the rooster. That is the sole criteria.

You rooster may not like being put in solitaire but he isn't being physically damaged like the hens are. Actually most roosters turn tail and run and do not give up their lives protecting the girls from predators. If you don't need fertile eggs to sell or for hatching chicks you don't need a rooster. Your girls would be fine without a rooster, and would still lay as many eggs albeit not fertile ones.