Is this from the Roo? Missing feathers.

[gatorridgechics]

I've been looking all over, besides BYC (because of the board issues tonight). A few hens in the coop are missing their feathers on the back end above the tail. Our coop holds up to 24 birds, but we only have 12 in there. We checked the birds for mites, lice, etc and found none. We also spray the coop regularly. While out looking over the birds I saw the roo mount one of the hens, I could see where he was standing on her it looks like his feet may be causing the damage. There also looks like there may be some picking going on. Although we were not sure, we removed that roo from the coop. He is the largest of all our birds and also the most agressive. I just wanted to double check other peoples opinions.

Here is a pic of the worst hen.

 

[TheJadeChicken]

Looks like the rooster has caused the feather lose. What do you mean the "most aggressive"?

 

[gatorridgechics]

No one messes with him, or ever has. He is the biggest and the only one who will actually try to flog DH when he goes in the coop to feed and water. We took him out of the coop and put in a smaller roo, one that is more the size of the hens.

 

[TheJadeChicken]

How many hens does he have usually? Are all the hens bare like the picture?

 

[gatorridgechics]

Out of 12 birds 9 are hens other than him there is one other RIR and a Old English Bantam. These two Roo's were still pretty small when we had this coop built and the big guy protected them from other roo's so we put them in the coop. The big one is the only roo I have seen mount any of the hens. And no not all the hens are like this. There are 2 that you can actually see the skin and 1 or 2 more that you can tell feathers are missing. None of the roo's have anything wrong with their feathers.

 

[TheJadeChicken]

Out of 12 birds 9 are hens other than him there is one other RIR and a Old English Bantam. These two Roo's were still pretty small when we had this coop built and the big guy protected them from other roo's so we put them in the coop. The big one is the only roo I have seen mount any of the hens. And no not all the hens are like this. There are 2 that you can actually see the skin and 1 or 2 more that you can tell feathers are missing. None of the roo's have anything wrong with their feathers.

Sounds like he has favorite hens, the ones that are bare. I would put chicken saddles on them, you can make them yourself or buy some in the Buy~Sale~Trade are of the forum. If you don't want to go to the trouble with chicken saddles you can always rehome the rooster.

 

[Chicks on DL]

I am going to bump this so someone with more experience can help you. I have heard other chicken owners putting chicken saddles on their hens. I don't have Roos but I have heard that some are more aggressive than others and if you have a Roo that has a better disposition you better off getting rid of the aggressor. Aggressive Roos breed agressive offspring. If I was to keep a Roo, I wouldn't keep one that attacked me or DH. That's just me. Don't bite the hand the feeds you philosophy (or you end up in the stew pot).

 

[gatorridgechics]

Our coop birds are our layers we get anywhere between 6 to 11 eggs a day, mostly the average is 9. We took him out of the coop yesterday afternoon, and let him be with the free range birds. We let him out with plenty of time to find the water, food, and a place to roost. At first all the other birds came over to check him out, I expected problems, but there were none. One of the smallest birds in the yard walked right up and pulled a tail feather, and the big guy didn't respond. I watched them for a long time. After he was let out of the coop, he actually calmed down. He didn't act aggressive towards me, DH, DS, or any other bird. He was a little confused for a while, but figured it out. The sun is starting to come out so I am going to go check and see how everyone is getting along this morning.

Other than the chicken aprons, is there something I sould be putting on the hens, like medicine?

 

[CMV]

Nope. An apron should suffice. You may want to check his spurs and nails. A little trim or filing may be in order. Favorite girls are always a little barebacked, though.