Rooster in the flock??

[lbah03]

Sorry everyone this is my second message today. I will not go through the entire story, but I now have one rooster and 4 hens together. I started with 5 roosters and 4 hens. Anyways, my hens are missing their feathers all on their backs and some wing feathers/broken. This started when all roosters where present. They just have not grown back in. Question - When I add the 4 new hens will my rooster slowly be diverse and mate with all of them? Not sure if I need to get rid of the rooster. He is the gentle one that I kept and I know the ratio needs to have more hens. There will be 1 to 8. Thank you for your help Worried about the hens.

 

[Mrs. K]

Bareback hens bother people way more than they bother chickens. As long as your hens are with him and happy, not running and hiding from him, keep him.

Often times from here on out, feathers are getting old, and by August they will really start looking bedraggled. Then they begin to molt and they look embarrassingly bad, just a fact of life for chickens. Then they molt, and look glorious in their brand new feathers.

If he is working out in all other areas, I would keep him. This is a temporary situation....Course I am out of a rooster right now, kind of missing having one.

Mrs K

 

[RobertaD1]

The feathers will grow back.... HOWEVER, if your roo doesnt have enough ladies, you will have some bare backs. Give him some time to see how he does. I had a sunburned chicken one year because of a randy roo. Funny, but kinda pitiful. If you notice new growth, but they are still not filling in, you may have a problem. The more hens... the better.

 

[aart]

Sorry everyone this is my second message today.

No limit on messages per day @lbah03

How old are these birds?
How long ago did you get rid of the other 3 males?
How big is your coop and run in feet by feet?
Dimensions and pics would surely help here

Feathers won't grow back until they molt.

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.

 

[lbah03]

No limit on messages per day @lbah03

How old are these birds?
How long ago did you get rid of the other 3 males?
How big is your coop and run in feet by feet?
Dimensions and pics would surely help here

Feathers won't grow back until they molt.

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.

Good Morning,

my 4 hens and 1 rooster are just a year old. The new hens are 10weeks today. The other roosters have been gone for about 1 1/2months. The run is 12ft x 14 ft long The coop is 8x 6. They get to free range everyday in the afternoon too.

 

[Ridgerunner]

If the entire feather came out the feather will regrow fairly soon. If any little bit of the shaft is left in that feather will not grow back until they molt. It may be months before those feathers grow back. 1-1/2 months should be more than enough for you to see some feathers growing back if they are going to before the molt.

 

[neo71665]

The ideal ratio is one rooster to 10 hens. Eight should be enough.

Push come to shove you can get a dog crate and put the roo in (with feed and water) long enough for the hens to heal up.

 

[Crestcrazy2]

He'll be good with eight hens

 

[RobertaD1]

Good Morning,

my 4 hens and 1 rooster are just a year old. The new hens are 10weeks today. The other roosters have been gone for about 1 1/2months. The run is 12ft x 14 ft long The coop is 8x 6. They get to free range everyday in the afternoon too.

You will want to watch for sunburn. Yes... it can happen... as silly as I think they are, we had to get a couple chicken saddles for those who would NOT stay out of the sun. They at least protected the area from further sunburn.