Please help, our roosters are too rough and I am worried about my hens

[juliemom25]

I really hope I can get some advice here on what to do. Our current flock consists of 20 5 month old hens (BO's, EE's, BA, NHR and RIR's) that are just starting to lay. We also have six almost 4 month old bantams (1 seabright roo, 1 silkie roo, 2 silkie hens, 2 OE's). Finally, we have two EE roos that are bout 3 1/2 months old. They all have been living together for about a month or so now (in a coop with more than ample space) and doing well.

About half of our standard hens are laying daily. Our two roos are doing their roo thing and I have noticed them mounting the girls for a couple weeks now. The roos seem to be pretty nice. We are out there with them 3 to 4 times a day and they are as nice as they can be to the kids and I. I haven't ever seem them particularly mean to the other chickens either. A snip or peck here and there, but that is what they are suppose to do.

Well, my son went out to the coop yesterday morning and one of our BA's was completely scalped. We thought she was dead. It looked horrible. You can clearly see her skull and her comb is completely gone. She has always been a favorite of the kids because she was/is a runt, although she isn't that much smaller these days. I am assuming one of the roos did this to her. She has been isolated and we are trying to nurse her back to health (I have no clue if she will even make it).

So, I was just out in the coop a little bit ago and one of our standard roos was trying to mount one of our very little OE bantams. It was not good. I have also been noticing black marks on some of the hens combs, I think also from the roos.

So, what should we do??? Our chickens are a family project, but their main purpose is eggs. We don't need the roos for that. But, we might like to hatch some eggs at some point and we like the roos because they protect our hens when they are free ranging.

Please offer some advice because my dear husband thinks we should just get rid of them and I don't want to do that yet. I also don't want my hens to keep getting beat up.

Help.....

Julie

 

[luvchicks8]

I am having the same trouble here with my EE Roo.

 

[Renee']

I'm not a pro on this subject but it may help to cut down to only one rooster?

 

[annek]

Only option I know is to put saddles on the hens, isolate the roosters or get rid of all but one. You are probably getting competition between the males and it will probably get worse.

 

[LittleChickenRacingTeam]

It may be the hens also doing the damage.

Chickens are cannibals by nature, & will often gang up on an injured bird.

 

[Mahonri]

Quote:
Agreed

 

[luvchicks8]

Well I am having the same problem with only one rooster.

 

[Hopefully]

My rooster is doing this! They get so aggressive during mating! Of course, I'm not 100% sure it was your rooster, but there's a good chance it was. I've been out watching mine closely, when a hen screeches I know she's getting attacked and I have to go out there and scare him away from her. It's crazy. If I were you, I'd separate the roosters from the hens until they calm down. Especially with that much damage. I hope your chicken makes it

 

[kuntrygirl]

I have had to separate the roosters in the past to give the girls a break. I also had to put 4 of them in a holding cell until they were re-homed. My roosters are very aggressive and I don't like that. When the girls make too much noise, I have to run the roosters away. The only good thing about the roosters is that all of my eggs are fertile. No complaints in that department but the girls are the ones that are suffering. I hate to see the bare backs, heads and necks. Try separating them for a while. If that doesn't work, then only keep your best rooster.

 

[mmtillman]

Hello there...we have the same issues here as well...I think everyone with 5-6 mo old birds is goin thru this right now.....the roos are finding out how to '' love the hens'' and sowin thier wild oats and, yes...they are rough on the hens.
I found the best solution for me , is to let my 2 meanest roosters out in the yard to free range during the day, to give my hens some peace and quiet....my little dog guards the flock so I can go inside for a while if I need to. This has brought much needed harmony to my flock. I have too many roos anyway.....so will be learning how to butcher this week for the first time...did nt think I could do it ...but am gonna be practical about it and admit I got these chickens for meat and eggs and that this will be part of the cycle of life in my back yard!

I hope your situation improves with this tip....good luck!!