Overmating one hen

[lomine]

She might his favorite or the most submissive.

I tried a saddle on one of my pullets before. She was the most submissive so was showing damage. My flock ratio was off and they were all young too. My cockerel freaked out and tried pulling it off her. Obviously he couldn’t get it off and chased her all around the yard. I ended up taking it off. He is older now and I have more females so I hope not to need one again.

 

[Orpingtons43]

She might his favorite or the most submissive.

I tried a saddle on one of my pullets before. She was the most submissive so was showing damage. My flock ratio was off and they were all young too. My cockerel freaked out and tried pulling it off her. Obviously he couldn’t get it off and chased her all around the yard. I ended up taking it off. He is older now and I have more females so I hope not to need one again.

Okay thanks! I have some female chicks now that I hope to put with him and the other hens when they are old enough. Hopefully the saddle will help.

 

[aart]

Also, now that we have a solution..... Why does the rooster seem to only be mating with her multiple times a day?

Is she the only bird laying?
IMO a 'good' adult cockbird won't over-mate any hen or pullet,
whether laying or not, and shouldn't mate nay bird not actively laying.
Sometimes they just have brittle feathers too,
which may imply over-mating but is not in fact the case.

She might his favorite or the most submissive.

Good point, but still.....

 

[Orpingtons43]

Is she the only bird laying?
IMO a 'good' adult cockbird won't over-mate any hen or pullet,
whether laying or not, and shouldn't mate nay bird not actively laying.
Sometimes they just have brittle feathers too,
which may imply over-mating but is not in fact the case.

Good point, but still.....

they are all laying now.

 

[chickens really]

You need more Hens...I got rid of my Roosters favourite Hen..He is great with the others. Some just submit too much to the Rooster so he jumps them..

 

[Orpingtons43]

You need more Hens...I got rid of my Roosters favourite Hen..He is great with the others. Some just submit too much to the Rooster so he jumps them..

Okay I have some 2 black sex links and 2 Blue Orpingtons, to put with the other 3 that are already with him will that be enough hens? It will be a total of 7 hens.

 

[chickens really]

Okay I have some 2 black sex links and 2 Blue Orpingtons, to put with the other 3 that are already with him will that be enough hens? It will be a total of 7 hens.

Yes...It should be fine...My Rooster has 7 Hens and is a perfect boy to his ladies..

 

[aart]

Okay I have some 2 black sex links and 2 Blue Orpingtons, to put with the other 3 that are already with him will that be enough hens? It will be a total of 7 hens.

Depends on the birds involved, might work - might not...
...adding birds can have it's own issues.

 

[Orpingtons43]

Well, I'll just try adding them and hopefully it will help. Also, I have a crooked neck chicken, he was just left here a few months ago..... What is best to feed him? I have been feeding him biscuits, starter grower, etc.

 

[rebrascora]

When you say a "crooked neck" chicken, how do you mean and can you post a photo of him? A twisted neck (wry neck) can be a symptom of several ailments, vitamin deficiency being the easiest one to fix, so a good poultry vitamin supplement like Nutri Drench would be a first step and a good quality all flock or grower with occasional scrambled egg or oily fish. A disease like Marek's is a likely candidate too if he is young, so isolating him from the rest of your flock might be a good idea if he has just arrived with you. It is a very common viral disease and easily transmitted to other chickens via inhaling dander dust from an infected bird and it is often fatal with no recognised treatment, so do consider taking precautions.