Roo too rough? Hens don’t submit?

[16Chickens Keeper]

This may be off topic but is relatable I do believe we have a silkie and possibly another roo will he be able to get along with our Ameraucana Rooster, at the moment he has 15 hens ( pretty lucky) and we have more chicks coming in 21 so is that more than enough hens for both may be thrice of them

 

[chubbchubb7]

@Ridgerunner
Let me see if I can answer all or most of your questions. I have had the girls 8 months. They were laying before I got them. The leghorns have been with the rooster for that same length of time and the black Australop was put in there because that’s where she wanted to lay her egg ‍. She’s been in there maybe 3 months. The rooster is about 2 years old give or take and double the size of his hens. These ladies are mostly for eggs to eat. I do hatch their eggs some but I depend on them for eating.
So here’s the over all goal and set up. Goal is sell eggs (I have a buyer that wants 96 eggs a week ) and hatch Easter Eggers/mixes that lay green and colored eggs. To the right of this pen is silkies with 8 hens and 2 tops. To the left is about 10-12 pullets on the verge of laying. Some of these will be sold and some will go in the pen we’ve been talking about. On the other side of the pullets is my Americauna roo (who is older and bigger than this guy) with his 9 hens, 3 pullets and possible cockerel Americauna. I also have two chick tractors on the other side of the silkies. I haven’t always had this problem with the leghorns. Two are quite calm and this one is cray-cray running around every time I enter the pen. The balding is recent, like in the last month.
Hopefully that gives an overview. Feed hasn’t much changed except that I added a different feed (Gamechicken conditioner) in combo with my layer feed. That’s been a couple of months now....

 

[chubbchubb7]

@Ridgerunner oops, I live in Florida USA.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Thanks, I had to read that a coupe of times but I think I've got it. You have experience with chickens, not a rookie. North of the equator so not the right time of year for a molt. The ones in question are mature, rooster and hens. Three months ago you added game bird conditioner to their diet. Two months ago you added the Australorp. One moth ago you started seeing the feather loss.

Let me think out loud about that Game Bird Conditioner, not sure why you added it. It should have about the same protein content percentage as your Layer feed, maybe marginally higher. It is low calcium and a little low fat, intended for that growth period of game birds from Starter until they are ready for their adult feed, not their laying period, just like Grower for adolescent chickens. How much of their total feed is this Game Bird Conditioner? Is it a significant portion or more like a treat, say 10% of overall feed? They don't forage so basically they eat what you give them. Brittle feathers is basically a nutritional defect. It's not that they don't eat the nutrients they need for feathers but more that their bodies don't process them right. The difference in fat is pretty small compared to Layer, but one trick to make feathers softer is to trickle oil on their feed, the oil conditions their feathers. I think it would be a real stretch to lay blame on that on that feed, the differences don't seem drastic enough. Many of us feed Grower to laying hens with oyster shell on the side.

But nothing else makes sense either. You may have changed flock dynamics some by adding the Australorp, but she was already laying so should act like an adult. They were fine for seven months with that set-up without the Australorp. In spring the hormones may get stronger in a rooster so he may become more vigorous, but in Florida that should have started sooner. Still, it may be a factor, why he is more vigorous in enforcing his dominance.

I should have asked earlier, what does the feather loss look like? I've assumed it is normal rooster wear, on the back where his claws rest or the back of the head where he grabs. Is it instead overall or other certain places. Have you checked them for mites and lice? Or is one of of the others plucking feathers?

You probably already know this but if all the feather came out that feather should grow back reasonably soon. If part of the feather shaft is left, they will not grow that feather back until they molt. So even if you solve the problem the feathers may not immediately grow back.

Nothing jumps out at me and says "this is the cause". If their skin is showing it could be cut by his claws or maybe spurs. It sounds like you'd be OK not hatching these hens' eggs so i'd probably move them out and see what happens.

Good luck with it.

 

[Geena]

i have a roo in a pen with 4 hens. Two of them aren’t missing any feathers, two are balding to the point I can now see skin. I noticed he chases them more. I am wondering if they refuse to submit to him and that is the problem? If it is then should I just move them out and use them only for eating eggs?
Any ideas are welcomed!

It's quite possible they are avoiding him because they are bare backed and sore. Those claws can really scratch up their bare skin! Then the more they refuse, the more insistent he becomes, hence the chasing.

 

[Chickassan]

The fact that penned hens no matter how few or numerous are more likely to show wear is.also a factor especially in the spring/summer when male hormones are up there.
He's all dressed up with nearly no where to go so to speak.

It's quite possible they are avoiding him because they are bare backed and sore. Those claws can really scratch up their bare skin! Then the more they refuse, the more insistent he becomes, hence the chasing.

 

[chubbchubb7]

Thanks for all y’all inputs. For whatever reason the crazy running around by he afore mentioned hens has quieted. Neither act crazy when I come into the pen and he doesn’t seem to be chasing anymore (maybe they submitted?). I threw in 4 pullets who should be laying in the next couple of weeks because I had a good opportunity and that’s where I want them in the long run. When I did the Australop got very territorial and asserted herself as the boss. She quickly backed down and left the girls alone (when the real boss was looking) when Mr Man told her to. ‍

 

[Ra_]

My roo has nine girlfriends and he has stripped the feathers from their backs. My last hatch was 20 out of 22, so he's doing a good job.
This morning I clipped his nails and filed the edges, so hopefully that will be more comfortable for the girls. He just laid on his back and didn't fuss. He's such a great bird.

 

[BigMoma3]

I have a similar situation. I recently added a flock of 7 australorps, 1 roo and 6 hens, to my existing flock of 7 rhode island reds hens. I've never had a rooster before so I've been observing his behavior around me and the girls. What I've noticed is two of the australorps were balding on their heads and a few others were missing a few head feathers. I thought they were starting a molt. Then I saw him mount one of them, and he bites their head feathers (to hold on maybe??) and it pulls some out while mating.

The two australorps that are nearly bald are his favorites. They run to him when I come around and they sleep one on either side of him on the roosting bar. I suppose they are so bald because they get mounted the most. Even though he now has several more hens to choose from, he still favors those two. So it's not that they won't submit, but rather the opposite. Maybe it's the same with your roo.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Then I saw him mount one of them, and he bites their head feathers (to hold on maybe??) and it pulls some out while mating.

I'll copy something I wrote a few years ago about the mating act. There are a lot of variations of this but some things are required for it to work. The head grab, for example.


Typical mating behavior between mature consenting adults.

The rooster dances for a specific hen. He lowers one wing and sort of circles her. This signals his intent.

The hen squats. This gets her body onto the ground so the rooster’s weight goes into the ground through her entire body and not just her legs. That way she can support a much heavier rooster without hurting her legs.

The rooster hops on and grabs the back of her head. The head grab helps him get in the right position to hit the target and helps him to keep his balance, but its major purpose is to tell the hen to raise her tail out of the way to expose the target. A mating will not be successful if she does not raise her tail and expose the target. The head grab is necessary.

The rooster touches vents and hops off. This may be over in the blink of an eye or it may take a few seconds. But when this is over the rooster’s part is done.

The hen then stands up, fluffs up, and shakes. This fluffy shake gets the sperm into a special container inside the hen near where the egg starts its internal journey through her internal egg making factory.