Is our rooster making our hens suffer?

[Melancholy Bear]

We have a rooster mating with five hens. He is much larger than them. His spurs have caused feather damage to the backs of a couple of his favorite hens, to the point where we bought chicken saddles for them. After even more time, he has caused the removal of feathers around the sides and backs of four of the five visible mostly when they raise their wings. You basically see a wide ring of pink skin from one side to the other when they lift their wings. The missing inner feathers are even on the ones wearing the chicken saddles. He is a decent and friendly rooster. But I don't know if this is a problem or if anything needs to be done with him. I am not fond of the idea of removing the hard shell from his spurs.

Is this harming the hens or causing them suffering? Or is it nature taking it's course? Should we dispatch our rooster and let the hens live in peace? Or do they like having a rooster and would they miss him being around? Will this make them cold and get frostbite next winter without their down feathers?

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

When a rooster is harming the hens, even slightly, he needs to go as soon as possible, and you don't need to wait. Your hens are miserable and they could easily die at this state, and it's definitely not nature taking its course. The hens will not miss a rooster who is making them suffer, they know it is for their own good and will enjoy him not being around.

 

[Stravager]

I could be wrong but I thought it was generally recommended to have at least 10 hens per rooster to spread his "affections" out enough. Hens will do just fine without a rooster, and their feathers should grow back in time for winter if he is removed.

 

[Red Mangrove]

1 to 5 rooster/hen ratio isn't enough females for most breeds. More active breeds may need an upwards of 15 to ensure minimal hen damage

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

I could be wrong but I thought it was generally recommended to have at least 10 hens per rooster to spread his "affections" out enough. Hens will do just fine without a rooster, and their feathers should grow back in time for winter if he is removed.

1 to 5 rooster/hen ratio isn't enough females for most breeds. More active breeds may need an upwards of 15 to ensure minimal hen damage

I agree, the OP doesn't have enough hens for a rooster as aggressive as him, but he still needs to go because the hens won't miss him at all.

 

[rosemarythyme]

If you like him, he's not doing an unacceptable amount of damage. You can blunt the tips of his spurs (I do that to my hens with bigger spurs). The wear damage is generally more bothersome to humans than the hens because it's unattractive, but it doesn't sound like he's actually physically hurting them (no tears or punctures to the skin). They will regrow the missing feathers during molt, and he should slow down mating at that time as the hens "shut down" for the winter.

If you don't really want a roo, then don't keep him. The hens will get over it.

 

[fluffycrow]

Totally agree. Feather loss hurts the keeper more than it does the hen. If not, some of my hens with overzealous males would've died a looong time ago. I'm also not a huge believer in the rooster to hen ratio. One male to two females has worked for me, as have 1 male to twenty females, or 15 females. Some roosters are just a little more...ambitious. Age and time of year also plays a role in this. Being ambitious doesn't mean hurting the hens. Hens aren't dumb. If they don't like it, they'll show it, and I'm not reading anything that points to your girls being distressed

 

[Shadrach]

The feather breakages aren't really much of a problem. It looks bad I know.
Having a rooster the same breed as the hens can help. Large roosters and small hens isn't ideal. A rooster of the same breed is weight matched for want of a better expression to the hens of that breed. This helps a lot with foot placement and dismounting which is when the majority of the feather damage is done. It's the roosters feet/toenails that are usually responsible for the feather damage on the hens shoulders and back. Saddles don't tend to protect the shoulder area.

I've yet to see any compeling evidence that more hens means less feather damage. One usually finds that roosters have favourite hens and they mate with those more often.
What one does have to look out for is the roosters spurs puncturing and then ripping the sides of the hens under their wings. rosmarythyme has given good advice to help prevent this in filing the roosters spur ends round and smooth.

Keeping conditions have a part to play. With ranging, or free ranging chickens one finds this is less of a problem than with contained hens where the opportunities to escape the roosters attentions may be more limited.

There is a fundamental problem underlying this. High production breeds, and that incudes many of the so called mid range layer dual purpose hens will want each egg to be fertile and will crouch for their rooster to ensure this happens. Hens are quite capable of rejecting a roosters advances given the space and the desire. The roosters job in part is to ensure each egg is fertile and the more eggs a hen lays the more attention she will get from the rooster. Pullets for example rarely get mated and the same applies to the more senior hens whose egg production may have slowed, or come to a stop.

 

[aart]

I thought it was generally recommended to have at least 10 hens per rooster to spread his "affections" out enough.

No, it's about fertility.
The 'rooster' to hen ratio of 1:10 that is often cited is primarily for fertility efficiency in commercial breeding facilities.

It doesn't mean that if a cockbird has 10 hens that he won't abuse or over mate them.

Many breeders keep pairs, trios, quads, etc ....short term and/or long term.

It all depends on the temperaments of the cock and hens and sometimes housing provided.

Backyard flocks can achieve good fertility with a larger ratio.

You can blunt the tips of his spurs (I do that to my hens with bigger spurs).

Definitely, to help prevent any actual wounds to the skin.
And also the toe nails as they are probably doing most the damage.

 

[Melancholy Bear]

Thank you for all your thoughtful replies. It's a lot to think about.

Here are some photos showing his relative size and some of the feather loss.