Is our rooster making our hens suffer?

[SwampPrincessChick]

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.

Those cuts don't look too bad now that I can see them, but you will have to monitor what your rooster is doing. He can easily stress the hens and become an even bigger problem, and an over-breeding rooster usually causes to infection developing in a hen's wounds.

 

[Tonyroo]

Blunt his toe nails and spurs, the bare spots will grow back.

 

[McChooky]

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 feathersmating 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?

Overmating can be the result of not having enough hens.

 

[Melancholy Bear]

I decided to blunt his spurs and nails. But I can't catch him. He is too cautious and too quick. My coop is also not one where I can walk into and snag him off his roost. Any ideas?

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

I decided to blunt his spurs and nails. But I can't catch him. He is too cautious and too quick. My coop is also not one where I can walk into and snag him off his roost. Any ideas?

Do you have any netting you can throw over him?