RIR Rooster misses the mark / plucking the feathers off hens! Help!

[Grandpa Luke]

"Mr. Ruffles" our RIR Rooster seems incapable of finding the right position to have sex with our hens! He makes so many efforts that he has plucked the feathers off the back of our RIR & Barred Rock Hens all the way down to the skin! This has been going on for 2 years now & my wife & I are concerned for the hens this winter. "Mr. Ruffles" was a birthday gift to my wife from our children & grandchildren so coming to the point we think it might be better to "terminate" him & try our luck with another Rooster has been difficult. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY KNOWLEDGE OR SUGGESTIONS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM OR SHOULD WE JUST TERMINATE THE ROOSTER? THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO TRIES TO HELP.

 

[Darklingstorm]

I would think that after 2 years and still not capable then its very likely he never will. On option to terminating him, would be to build a bachelor pad for him and then get another rooster.

 

[knightie]

Are you sure hes having g trouble? I mean he may just really like those particular girls and just has a go at them so often it pulls those feathers out. They made chicken saddles for that.

 

[donrae]

Sounds like he's doing it right, just doing it a lot. How many hens do you have for the one roo? How much space do you have? Is it all your hens or just a specific few?

I did have a "stalker" rooster a few years ago. All my birds were free ranged and I'd never had a problem, even with 4 roosters and 16 hens. Then this guy came along and stalked 2 of my buff orp hens. He chased them and mated them til they were bare backed and afraid to leave the porch or whatever shelter they could find. He would perch on the porch waiting for them to come out.

He tasted like chicken lol.


So, it could be a space issue, could be not enough hens to spread his attentions around, or could just be he's a stalker-type and needs to go.

 

[Grandpa Luke]

Thank you to everyone.

 

[Grandpa Luke]

Donrae:

He's the only Rooster with 8 hens! 4 Rhode Island Reds & 4 Barred Rocks! All in all he's been a good rooster integrating the two breeds & showing them attention in other areas. We used to let them free range until I built the new coop that has a pull up door leading to a 16 foot by 16 foot run. The new coop is 10' X 10' with the outside walls insulated & plenty of ventilation.

When I checked on the birds yesterday 3 Barred Rocks & one RIR were affected. The RIR throws herself at him because she's the first hen & wants to be number one in the social pecking order. They all seem to be doing a little better than the last time I looked so maybe he's figured it out.

With everyones responses my Wife isn't as anxious about it as before. Thank you

Luke