I’m worried my rooster will kill my hen by over mating? How will I know before it gets to this point?

[KingD]

Yes a lot of people have said that I was hoping he would start mating the other hens and this would have solved the problem and then when they are all allowed back out he would be able to protect them all

Roosters are better suited to the pot.
You could possibly try another one but I can't guarantee it would be any different. Unfortunately us BYC members can't control your roosters mind so it's up to You really.

 

[slip n slide]

domestic breed roosters tend to be over-sexed and hormonally driven and they def have a fav they will keep going back to over and over and ignore the others,the only solution other'n gettin rid of the roo is isolate the affected hen,but that's not fair to her cuz he's the problem

 

[Stephanie8806]

I have heard a few people say “There are too many good roosters to keep a bad one.” Definitely opens up the uncomfortable conversation for some about culling or giving away... and there should probably be a realistic expectation that almost anyone willing to take in a rooster assumes it’s because it was a problem bird and are probably planning to eat him.

I don’t know for sure if your rooster could kill your single hen, as I have not seen it with my own eyes... but it seems to have happened before, and I know it definitely happens in wild birds. I also would assume that if your hen did pass, he would likely move on to another one.

Is there a way you can separate him from the hens? Or quarantine that one hen for a bit while she recovers? Maybe in the latter scenario, he will learn to spread the love around a bit?

 

[Ridgerunner]

The danger is not that he will over-mate her to death. With 8 hens and them a year old he should be mating all of them, I'm not sure exactly what is going on. When hen is laying her comb and wattles typically turn red which is a sign that she needs her eggs fertilized. Maybe the others haven't started laying yet from winter? I don't know what is going on there but you could add 80 more hens and still have the same problems.

The danger with her losing feathers is that his claws or spurs might cut her when they are mating. That is not good, could be dangerous. Could you please post a photo of the feather loss so we can see how bad it is? It's pretty normal for an occasional feather to come off when they are mating, it's when bald spots develop so she can be cut that it gets dangerous.

Sometimes this type of thing is caused by a rooster's bad mating technique. I've had it caused by the hen having brittle feathers. It's a condition that is caused by a lack of nutrition. If it's one hen only that's usually because her body doesn't process those nutrients properly. If the other hens aren't having that problem then they are getting those nutrients so you are feeding them correctly.

When that happened to me I had one rooster and eight hens about the same age as yours. Two hens developed bare backs so I ate them. That reduced the ratio from 1 to 8 to 1 to 6 and the problem went away. How can I blame the boy if the ratio got worse and the problem still went away.

So what can you do? First, what is causing the problem, if you actually have one? Mites or lice might lead to feather loss, other hens plucking the feathers to eat them could happen. If it is another hen pecking feathers most feather picking usually that is around the vent area of maybe on the neck but it can happen somewhere else. Usually if it is from mating it's where the rooster's feet are standing on her back or on the back of the head. Part of the mating act is the head grab, that tells the hen to raise her tail up out of the way so he can hit the target. Sometime those feathers come out and leave a bare spot on the back of the head. So what are you seeing behavioral wise? A photo of the feather loss could help. It would be a shame to kill the rooster if he doesn't have anything to do with it, but you get that advice all the time.

If it is due to mating, you can get rid of the boy. You can isolate him from the flock or at least that hen forever by housing him separately, eat him, kill him and bury him, or try to give him away or sell him. If it's just that one hen with the problem and you really really want a rooster you could get rid or her but most people won't consider that.

You can try a saddle and see if that works.

You can try dulling his claws. His spurs too if they have grown that much. Just take the sharp point off. I use a Dremel tool with one of those discs you use to cut metal but a drill will work. Someone on here said they use a Dremel or drill with an abrasive wheel to grind the tip off. You can use pet nail clippers. The claws and spurs have a quick, if you cut into that it will bleed. Having flour or cornstarch handy to throw on to stop the bleeding might be useful but the few times I've nicked the quick it's only a few drops of blood.


An 8m x 3.5m run converts to about 26 feet x 11 feet. For 9 chickens that's pretty good. The tighter they are packed the more behavioral problems are magnified but I don't think lack of room is your problem.

I wish you luck. This type of an issue can be frustrating.

 

[Sheepheart]

Sadly your best bet is to retire the rooster. If the reason you have a rooster is to protect your hens I would look into getting them a guardian goose, unless your wanting fertilized eggs as well then you may try getting a different rooster?

 

[Davethebirdman]

I’m worried my rooster will kill my hen by over mating? How will I know before it gets to this point?

I have Australorps and my rooster is only mating one of my hens and she is bauld on the back. I have started putting hen Saddles on them to protect her and did the rest so they wouldn’t pick on her if she was the only one with the back protector.

I have recently heard that roosters can mate a hen to death and now I am so worried this might happen to mine. Does anyone have any experience with this? Advice would be much appreciated

That happens. I separate my roosters from the hens if they are over aggressive or the hens are looking abused. Take him out to a separate cage.

 

[arwoon]

We carried our roo around like a baby alot and he was perfectly cured. Of course it takes some patience, but I would at least try that before you butcher him.

 

[TheHighFiveHero]

So many people have said that. I was hoping he would mate with all of them and then therefore he could stay but I’m worried about him killing this particular hen. Has anyone ever heard of this happening?

Yes a rooster will breed a hen to death. You really only have 2 options. Get rid of the rooster or get more hens. if I remember correctly the rule is "20 to 1 is plenty of fun". If the rooster has enough hens to "occupy" his time for some reason they don't pick a favorite.

 

[PoppasGrill]

We have a fairly large flock, 80 hens and 14 Roosters, but the boys still have their favorites. By that I mean that they will chase a hens through the rest of the flock to rape her, then 2-3 othe roosters will try to hop on while she’s down. We have isolated the hens for a couple weeks, right now we have 6 hens isolated due to bare backs, the boys still march up and down in front of the isolation coop, and the girls wiggle their butts at the boys knowing they can’t get in.
It was either that or cull / rehome the more aggressive Roosters. Our Alpha Brahma does his little dance and girls lay down for him, he’s gentle and rewards them by calling them for food and he will chase off the more aggressive Roosters when he can.