My Silverudds Blue/Silkie rooster wants my two bantam ladies...

[valper]

My rooster just matured and is taking rounds mating all the ladies. My flock is very mixed in terms of ages, sizes and breeds and two of my girls are Ölandska dwarf hens. These were the first hens I even owned and they are about 2 years old but bitty little things. Now my rooster has become interested in them and I'm worried that he could hurt them. They are tough, so they usually fight him off and he lets them be but I did see him successfully mount one of them. I though about having a separate section for them but this isn't really the best option since they free range; they would then have to be enclosed and separated from the rest of the flock.

Could he possibly inflict serious damage onto her by mating?

 

[DobieLover]

My rooster just matured and is taking rounds mating all the ladies. My flock is very mixed in terms of ages, sizes and breeds and two of my girls are Ölandska dwarf hens. These were the first hens I even owned and they are about 2 years old but bitty little things. Now my rooster has become interested in them and I'm worried that he could hurt them. They are tough, so they usually fight him off and he lets them be but I did see him successfully mount one of them. I though about having a separate section for them but this isn't really the best option since they free range; they would then have to be enclosed and separated from the rest of the flock.

Could he possibly inflict serious damage onto her by mating?

He's a cockerel so he has some learning to do to be better at mating without fumbling all over the place trying to hit the spot (like most boys on their first try) .

However, generally when the female squats and he mounts, all his weight is carried to ground by her body, not her legs. They should be fine. Most mating unintentional injuries by roosters are caused by him slipping off the hens side(s) and the spurs cutting them. Cockerels don't have spurs. He will improve with age.
How many other birds are in the flock for him? Are they hens or pullets or a combination? Does he have any ladies that willingly squat for him?

 

[valper]

He's a cockerel so he has some learning to do to be better at mating without fumbling all over the place trying to hit the spot (like most boys on their first try) .

However, generally when the female squats and he mounts, all his weight is carried to ground by her body, not her legs. They should be fine. Most mating unintentional injuries by roosters are caused by him slipping off the hens side(s) and the spurs cutting them. Cockerels don't have spurs. He will improve with age.
How many other birds are in the flock for him? Are they hens or pullets or a combination? Does he have any ladies that willingly squat for him?

Ah, good to know that he still has some learning to do and won't always be so sloppy!
He has a lot of ladies to chose from (20 to be exact) but only about 5 that are mature/laying. The others are of mixed ages and breeds. He does have his two favourite girls that let him mate without much trouble. He seems to be a bit intimidated by the large older girls so maybe he saw the little one as easier to handle... I hope they can figure it out without any big accidents!