Oversexed Rooster

[pedoodle]

One Rooster, 13 hens. He has difficulty catching some of the young ones so he takes it out on the slower passive ones. Two of them are down to skin on their backs! I clipped his nails and filed down the edges. It doesn't seem to be helping much! What to do???

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

You need more hens. 1 rooster to 8 to 10 hens is the proper ratio. So for now, separate him out so the hens can heal. You can also use hen saddles on the hens to protect the backs too....http://www.hensaver.com

But I would give the hens a break. They can't take too much over breeding. Let their feathers regrow. You can use blu-kote spray on the open skin so the other hens don't mess with the newly growing feathers. Separate them as well if you have to for a while as they heal, but keep them within the flock if you have to cage them so mixing them back in is easy.

Good luck with your flock and welcome to our flock!

 

[pedoodle]

Thanks TwoCrows!

 

[Michael OShay]

Welcome to BYC! Glad you decided to join our flock. Are you keeping the rooster for breeding purposes? Because, when you really get down to it, the only reason you really need a rooster is to fertilize eggs for hatching. I currently have 25 hens, no roosters, and I get loads of eggs without feeding any non-egg laying mouths, without the aggression, fights, crowing in the middle of the night, and over-bred and battered hens that frequently goes along with having roosters (especially too many of them). What breed is your rooster? If he continues to abuse your hens that way, I would try and pick up another more gentle rooster (perhaps even another breed if needed). In the meanwhile, I would treat your hens backs with Blue Kote Wound Dressing (http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/blue_kote_wound_dressing.html), and purchase some chicken saddles to protect your hens (http://www.mypetchicken.com/catalog/Diapers-and-Saddles/Chicken-Saddle-p764.aspx). Feel free to ask any other questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck with your rooster problem.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! You've gotten some good links and advice above, good luck with your flock.

 

[pedoodle]

He is the offspring of a rooster that would attack me. He is very docile and low keyed. The two hens are resistant to his advances.
Why does he need more than the 13 hens, TwoCrows??
He is an English Orpington Buff along with 7 of the hens. Three each of Leghorns and Rhode Island Reds.
I built a very successful incubator, but it's not needed at the moment as one of the baby buffs is sitting loyally on six eggs.

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

X2, you need one rooster for every 1-10 hens you own. So you'll either have to re-home some roosters or get more hens. Too many roosters leads to fights, hens who get too much attention, injuries and stress on everyone. Look into some chicken saddles for your hens to help their feathers regrow. Feed them parsley too as this help with feather regrowth. Two Crows gave you a good link to hen savers.

Seperate your injured hens and give them some TLC. Put some ACV in their water, give them foods with high protein content and parsley. Rub some ointment on their wounds after you wash them.

Good luck and glad you joined!

 

[gander007]

Sounds like them old Brewster the Rooster jokes I would hear as a kid

Sounds like you might want to remove some of the slower and passive one's and make him run for it ....

Enjoy your poultry and maybe put him to aside and let him rest .....

 

[drumstick diva]

Responders please note:

Thread starter has ONE ROOSTER & 13 HENS, that is a good amount for him. Problem is he can't catch some of them , so the slower ones get overbred.

I definitely think you need to take the overbred hens out to heal for awhile. Then get them some hen aprons ,available on the BYC buy, sell ,trade forum under "everything else for sale."

In the meantime leave the rooster in with the faster ones., and see how that goes. He may actually get some bred but, I'm thinking he will wear himself out before he can do any damage to them.

 

[pedoodle]

I started this thread with "One Rooster, 13 hens." I don't know why some of you think otherwise! LOL