I have been wanting to get a roo so that I can start incubating my own eggs. I went to the feed store the other day, and there was a man outside selling POL pullets. They were RIR's, and they looked TERRIBLE! Not only were they missing feathers on their back, but they were missing toes, pieces of their comb and one was missing an eye. They also appeared to have leg mites, their feet looked swollen, scaly and raw. He had their roo in a seperate cage.
My hens are gorgeous!!!! They are fully feathered, have all their appendages, and no signs of parasites that I can tell. I have done a lot of reading on here about roosters, some are "gentle with the ladies" others have been described as "pretty rough'. My question may seem silly to some, but it's one I have to ask. Is it normal behavior for a rooster to bite off chunks of comb and even remove the eyes of his ladies while mating? Or were these ladies that I seen possibly harmed in some other way? I would love to have the ability to incubate my own eggs, but if my ladies will end up looking like that, I'll stay satisfied to run a convent.
My hens are gorgeous!!!! They are fully feathered, have all their appendages, and no signs of parasites that I can tell. I have done a lot of reading on here about roosters, some are "gentle with the ladies" others have been described as "pretty rough'. My question may seem silly to some, but it's one I have to ask. Is it normal behavior for a rooster to bite off chunks of comb and even remove the eyes of his ladies while mating? Or were these ladies that I seen possibly harmed in some other way? I would love to have the ability to incubate my own eggs, but if my ladies will end up looking like that, I'll stay satisfied to run a convent.
