Rooster in the flock

[wmroth]

Last May I bought 13 peeps. As they matured I ended up with 12 hens and 1 rooster. I thought it would be ok to keep the rooster and let him tend to the flock. Will as they continued to grow and the rooster matured, he began mounting the hens (a part of being a rooster). He mounts each hen numerous times a day, and I started to notice feather damage on the hen’s backs. During the winter the chickens are unable to free range (we have about 2 foot of snow) and my hens are developing bare patches where the rooster mounts them. Can this be just from the rooster or is something else happening? What should I do? Thanks

 

[DaughterOfEve]

its probably the roo. here are a few choices. Get aprons for the girls - could be expensive. Separate the boy completely or limit his time with them. my roo came after the girls were here so the lead hen put him in his plae right off. He gets very little action as the girls won't have it. He is a real gentleman about the whole thing.
another choice is find him a new home, or well, ...rename him pot pie.

 

[GreenGoddess]

I would definitely say this is from the rooster.. You can get chicken saddles for your girls.. Other options would be to separate them, find another home for the rooster, get more hens (although you would need to quarantine the new girls for at least 4 weeks to be sure they are healthy) or stew pot..

Goddess