Rooster HELP

[Learningchickmom]

I'm so angry at my boy's. They ample hen's yet tonight they ganged up on one hen. They all took a turn. I know that's callused but that is exactly what they did. I do not permit them to mate when I'm in the yard. They free range during the day. If they do attempt to mate I pick the Roo's up and carry them around for a bit. It has always worked. But not tonight!!! I'd pick one up and there was another one right there mounting the same hen. I separated all the Roo's in their own pen for now. Is it the heat making them act up? Any insight on what in the world is going on would be super helpful! As protective and useful in keeping all the ladies safe from predators, I am not going to tolerate them ganging up and being mean to the hens!

 

[LateBirdFarms]

What's your male to female ratio?

 

[Learningchickmom]

8 hens for each roo.

 

[aart]

How old are these birds?
How many males and how many females?
Stopping them from mating is futile....and not really the keepers job.
Multiple males can be a real PITA,
creates an environment of competition can make them all behave at their worst.

There are no magic finite numbers for gender ratio.
The 'rooster' to hen ratio of 1:10 that is often cited is primarily for fertility efficiency in commercial breeding facilities.
It doesn't mean that if a cockbird has 10 hens that he won't abuse or over mate them.
Many breeders keep pairs, trios, quads, etc ....short term and/or long term.
It all depends on the temperaments of the cock and hens and sometimes housing provided.
Backyard flocks can achieve good fertility with a larger ratio

 

[LateBirdFarms]

Very well put by aart! I only asked the ratio question to make sure it wasn't a situation of very few females, say 2 for instance, and a large number of males, say...8! In that case, every time you capture your male, the next most dominant in line would have been hoping on a poor girl for a ride as soon as there was a free chance to do so!

A roosters job, first and foremost is to procreate, with all other rooster behaviors a result of that one main drive. If they're young, they may learn manners, but you'll have to be vigilant. You could try a hen saddle, I personally don't have any experience with them, but they seem pretty popular, but if you're only using your roos for flock protection, in most cases for me a hen always stepped up to fill the roosters shoes in every aspect but the mating bit. Even had a crowing hen for awhile.