How to stop rooster from hurting my hens??

[Folly's place]

How old are your hens? Are they also about a year old, and laying eggs, or are they this spring's pullets?
If they are mature enough to be laying eggs, they should be willing to be mated by a polite rooster. If he's actually too rough and hurting them, that's a black mark against him.
Some birds do have feathers that just don't hold up well. Do you have hens who look fine, and others who don't? Is this rooster concentrating on a couple of them only?
If he's actually too rough with his flock, that doesn't make him a winner either.
Mary

 

[ChickenMom04]

How old are your hens? Are they also about a year old, and laying eggs, or are they this spring's pullets?
If they are mature enough to be laying eggs, they should be willing to be mated by a polite rooster. If he's actually too rough and hurting them, that's a black mark against him.
Some birds do have feathers that just don't hold up well. Do you have hens who look fine, and others who don't? Is this rooster concentrating on a couple of them only?
If he's actually too rough with his flock, that doesn't make him a winner either.
Mary

yes some of my hens are fine or are missing just a few of the signature feathers from the backs of their heads that come with mating, nothing bad. I guess some are just loose feathered. theyre a year old, some do it willingly and others do not. we ordered chicken saddles so hopefully it'll control the damage on their feathers. We'll be adding 3 new hens in the spring just in time for mating season, so hopefully it allows him to spread his attention around the flock.

 

[Folly's place]

Another solution; rehome your loose feathered hens to flocks that don't include roosters. The hens will be happier, and saddles not needed. It's a trait not worth breeding on either, so if you plan to raise chicks, this will not be in your bird's gene pool.
Mary

 

[ackie]

Do they have enough space? Do the hens have places to hide?

Maybe he needs some other way to take out his energy so he can mate more calmly?

I just let my girls sort it out and keep an eye on their bald spots for bleeding, which I haven't seen happen. But I know my girls can get away if they really dont want it haha.

 

[LaFleche]

I found it very helpful to file down and round not only the spurs but also each of the rooster's claws to protect the hens.

Roughly mating cockerels/roosters will stress the hens which leads to more susceptibility to illness.

 

[The WinterWolf]

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.

i have the almost exact problem but instead its the heads and the backs getting plucked