How to stop rooster from hurting my hens??

[ChickenMom04]

We have plenty of hens, 8 to be exact and 3 to be added in the spring. My rooster though seems to get very aggressive when mating and my hens have never willingly mated with him. he isn't an aggressive rooster around us, and he's one of our favorites because he's so friendly. The aggressive mating leaves large bald spots on my hen's backs and heads (especially the one specific hen he likes to pick on the most) , and it only gets worse in the spring. Should I be getting saddles for all the hens? I don't want to have to get rid of him, he's one of the least aggressive roosters I've seen. It's just the mating issue. Any help is appreciated.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

If you dontnwant to get rid of him, saddles.and more hens are all that can help. How long are his spurs and what breeds are the hens?

 

[ChickenMom04]

If you dontnwant to get rid of him, saddles.and more hens are all that can help. How long are his spurs and what breeds are the hens?

Spurs are maybe a little less than an inch and are mostly dull, not sharp. The hens are several mixed breeds, he's an EE. Some of our hens are barred rock, some are midnight maran, the one he picks on is a golden laced, and surprisingly the one he leaves alone is a polish and the smallest of them all.

 

[Abriana]

How old is he? If he is young then then he will mellow out. You can keep him separate if you want until he is a little older and more mature. If he spurs do happen to get sharp (I had a problem with a rooster hurting hens with his spurs when he mated) you can wrap them in duct tape. I always did that and it worked beautifully--much easier than removing them.

 

[ChickenMom04]

How old is he? If he is young then then he will mellow out. You can keep him separate if you want until he is a little older and more mature. If he spurs do happen to get sharp (I had a problem with a rooster hurting hens with his spurs when he mated) you can wrap them in duct tape. I always did that and it worked beautifully--much easier than removing them.

He's a year old, is that still young? he gets lonely when I try to separate him and crows all night long. (which isn't pleasant for our neighbors ) Also, will using a file on his spurs hurt him? we have a steel file that we could use to dull down his spurs if they get too sharp. Thanks for the help!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

As long as you don't hit the quick, a file won't hurt. Huh, none of those breeds are tight feathered. I know those birds get bare backed far quicker than other birds, and his spurs aren't that long. He must just be a really rough breeder

 

[ChickenMom04]

As long as you don't hit the quick, a file won't hurt. Huh, none of those breeds are tight feathered. I know those birds get bare backed far quicker than other birds, and his spurs aren't that long. He must just be a really rough breeder

He is pretty rough and is larger than my hens. the times I've caught him it's been difficult to get him off because he's strong. I'll be looking into saddles for them so it stops hurting them.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Little amazed an EE male is larger than some of those hens you listed by a lot.

Blankets will be the best choice, again unless you add more hens to try and spread the love thinner

 

[Abriana]

He's a year old, is that still young? he gets lonely when I try to separate him and crows all night long. (which isn't pleasant for our neighbors ) Also, will using a file on his spurs hurt him? we have a steel file that we could use to dull down his spurs if they get too sharp. Thanks for the help!

No a year is when they should be mature--when I got my rooster Uriah he was seven months old and definitely not cockerel-hormonal. Now he's nine months and not 100% mature but he is getting there for sure. I think maybe he's just a rough mater, saddles will help. All rooster mature differently though, so perhaps he'll calm down a bit more.

You have to be super super careful because if the spur starts bleeding it is very hard to stop. When spurs and nails start bleeding it will not clot easily. I have a friend on here who's turkey died of a broken nail. That's why I don't cut or remove the spurs. I know many people do though. If you choose to, take it very slowly as it's better to have to cut more rather than wish you'd cut less. Have corn starch or blood stop powder on hand and if he does start bleeding watch him carefully until it stops. I had a hen who broke a toenail and it was bleeding A LOT so after the blood stop powder didn't work I used super glue, which thankfully worked. My rooster Napoleon (who has since passed away) used to attack hawks when they tried to get a chicken, so I always duct taped rather than remove them altogether because I knew he used them.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

One of our 4H families use the hot potato method to remove spurs. The chicken doesn't seem to really notice it too much when done right and it does make them smaller.

I don't touch spurs. I have a male who's now at at least 3 inches and I may have to trim a bit just because he can't run easily (he's penned safely so he has no need to run honestly though)