Mating

[tdgill]

The rough treatment of my hens by my rooster is disturbing to me...today he pulled feathers out with the skin/quick attached. It is hard to bear! Any words of support as to how soon they will get the hang of this is appreciated! It will get less rough I hope?

 

[jenni2142]

How old is the roo? If he is young he may learn better technique. If he is older he may just be bad at it and you may have to rethink him. I am not sure if you can teach him to be more gentle.

 

[tdgill]

he's new at it...19 weeks. I was keeping roos and hens separated for a while because i have 3 roos and 3 hens. hahah. And the orps roos who hung together acted like they were gonna kill the black copper... the copper had all the girls to himself at one point but that was because he was 13 weeks and not interested in the girls so much. I just wonder if I have escalated the "attraction" by switching the girls back and forth with the roos...

 

[damselfish]

Even one roo with three hens is a pretty low ratio. Good luck deciding what to do with them, maybe one will turn out to be nice. Some roos truly are gentler (or is it just that they have better motor skills?) than others.

Enabler suggestion: You need more hens!

 

[tdgill]

ok, now I am looking at chicken mating videos on youtube.com

gives me an idea of what to expect. feeling alittle better. Good advice for anyone who is new to the chicken love. Could it also be my roo was jealous that the hen was sitting close to me? I was more like a strike than an attempt to mount. Is he just asserting his dominance for future reference? lol