Mating = injuries

[crayon]

My rooster is quite the kind fella- The ladies of the barnyard like him very much after 2 other roosters who got offed because of being jerks. They hens will even sit 20-30 feet away from him and "wait" for him to come mate with them.

The problem is he is HUGE and heavy and they are just little hens and they are raw on their backs- and up at the top of their wings. He is just getting spurs- he is only about 14 months old- and I think it is more a combo of his weight and his "nails" on his feet. Is there a way I can trim them?

I feel so bad for my hens. I got 14 more hens coming up to mating age- so I hope it will spread out a bit more from the choice of 9 he has now. But goodness.... I feel SOOOOO bad. :-(

 

[seminolewind]

You can get the hens saddles, which is like a cape that protects them, and sometimes I use duct tape, a few pieces across the back from under wing to under wing. Don't worry about getting it off, it usually falls off by itself.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I use a dremel tool to trim the claws. Use the wheel that is used for cutting metal. Don't try to take off much of the claws, just take the sharp points off to blunt the nails.

People on this forum seem to obsess about the spurs causing the damage. I personally think it is the claws much more than any spurs, mainly because of what you have observed. The damage occurs when they don't have much of a spur.

I think you will find that as the rooster matures, his technique will improve and this problem will be much less noticeable. And don't worry too much about the difference in size. When a hen squats, she transfers his weight through her body into the ground. If she tried to do that standing up she could hurt her legs.

Loss of some feathers is not a big deal. It's when they have bare skin that can be cut that it becomes a problem.