Rooster Issue

[Chickassan]

If it is spring or summer where you are Shaggy is shaggin more than he will the rest of the year.
Your girls are getting to range now so they aren't a captive audience and could decline his advances if they wish.
If less feathers are being lost even in the hormonal height of the year then your problem is solving itself.

 

[Peanutsmomma]

You mentioned early on in the thread that he flips up the back of the hen saddle? I have found when I make a hen saddle I attach a piece of elastic to either side of the wings of the saddle. The piece of elastic lays against the belly of the chicken and holds the saddle wings down so that the rooster doesn't get underneath the hen saddle and cause it to roll up.

 

[Jrzebra]

I have all different breeds. 2 of the hens are also Brahmas (like him). He usually is very polite. He generally does his mating dance and waits for the girls to submit but recently he’s been chasing them like a mad man to mount them aggressively lol. He’s about a year old now.

The girls don’t have open wounds, but it is unsightly to look at their bare backs. I think I feel worse than they feel.

I will try trimming his nails and see how that goes.

I have technically only seen him mount the bantams twice, generally they do their own thing away from the rest of the flock so I’m not overly concerned about them.

I may be overreacting, I just feel bad. The feather loss got really bad over the winter, when they were confined to their coop / run. Now that they are free ranging I think it’s gotten better?

Sounds like your rooster is just young & inexperienced, so a little too overzealous with the girls. Brahmas are wonderful roosters. I have had very good luck using "peepers" to reduce overly agressive behavior in hens & roos. I have multiple roosters, both with hens & in a "bachelor pen" with 12 roosters living together in harmony. The peepers don't keep them from being able to mate or do any other normal behavior; they simply make it harder for him to see straight ahead, so its harder for him to land a hard peck, (which gives the hen more time to avoid it). I have used them on roosters who are too agressive & b/c/o that, did not fit into the flock well. In my experience, the peepers just helped take the edge off the bad behavior. The roosters ended up being much happier & were able to integrate with the rest of the birds. After a few weeks the peepers fell off in most cases, but by that time there wasn't a need for them any longer.
Look up "Rooster eye glasses" on Amazon. Make sure you get the ones that are pinless. They are cheap & don't hurt the birds. For a Brahma you'll want the biggest size, and you may still need to trim away some of the plastic, so that it doesn't rub his wide comb anywhere. It takes a little practice to put them on right so they stay, but you don't need any tools to do it. Best to have a helper at 1st. Sit down & put him on your lap belly-up. Have your helper hold his feet down so he doesn't kick & gently hold his head still. Flex the peepers a few times to loosen the tension, center them over his beak & line the little plastic barbs up with his nostrils. In 1 motion, while pulling the barbs apart, push them into the beak & upward, into the uppermost part of each nostril, then release the tension so the barbs close into each nostril. That part of the nostril is horny & it shouldn't hurt him. It can be a bit scary to put them on at 1st- he may get scared & yelp & they can seem uncomfortable at 1st, or he may walk like he is drunk. But within 20 minutes he will forget he has them on. If you're still having trouble, try it. Good roosters deserve a chance- they are beautiful to look at & can have great personalities. We love our roos & wouldn't be without them!

 

[abraga]

In my own flock i've noticed that as the weather turns warmer my roos hormones are higher and they are more aggressively mating the hens. I breed a few brahma every year and my observations are that once the young roos hormones kick in they can be pretty hard on the hens for a few months. Even at 5/6 months, my brahma are hugh birds Often twice the size of the hens. While they go through thier sex crazed stage, I find I need to separate them from the girls a few hours each day to give the hens a break. Teenage Brahma full of hormones can be quiet rough on the hens to the point of causing a lot of stress. Best thing is to separate him , at least a few hours a day. They are most rambunctious early in the morning and late in the day. Free range your hens but lock him in the run so your girls get some down time to relax. He'll settle down in a few months. Bantum are to small for him. I had a small cemani hen severely injured by a brahma roo. Resulted in a broken hip.

 

[rdetraz]

You really need to be careful when your You need to be careful when your rooster is that much larger than your hens. My rooster was the same way and I let him stick around for a while. I checked my girls every day for a few weeks to make sure that it wasn't getting any worse than bare patches. One day when I checked on my favorite hen he had ripped open her back 3in down to her tail and 3in down her side. The muscle was bulging out of the hole. I either needed to put her down or find a way to stitch her up. That was when I had my husband do the rooster in. I don't need a rooster that will hurt my girls.

 

[Xotomi]

I tried to introduce a new rooster his year because I have tripled my number of hens. What I learned is if the new introduction chases my hens around, their egg production may stop from their being stressed out. If they don’t submit to this rooster, they may never. It’s a hen’s way of saying, “back off, I don’t like you!” He chases them out of disrespect and what sure looks like brutality. It seems he may never settle down. I wait months, no change. Everyone of my hens is happier to see that type removed. Usually this antisocial attitude develops in a rooster that was not raised along with his hens. He will be good to those he is raised with yet cruel to all the others. In my short experience of only three years, a kind and thoughtful rooster is a rare gem. Once you find him, never let him go!

 

[Chickassan]

I agree, the vast majority of boys that haven't been hatched here and taught by the girls have been total idiots no nicer way to put it.
The boys my girls get to whip into shape grow to be lovely enjoyable roosters.
I know my girls do a good job. When the boys go to their own flocks they're ready to rooster so the ladies love them.

I tried to introduce a new rooster his year because I have tripled my number of hens. What I learned is if the new introduction chases my hens around, their egg production may stop from their being stressed out. If they don’t submit to this rooster, they may never. It’s a hen’s way of saying, “back off, I don’t like you!” He chases them out of disrespect and what sure looks like brutality. It seems he may never settle down. I wait months, no change. Everyone of my hens is happier to see that type removed. Usually this antisocial attitude develops in a rooster that was not raised along with his hens. He will be good to those he is raised with yet cruel to all the others. In my short experience of only three years, a kind and thoughtful rooster is a rare gem. Once you find him, never let him go!

 

[SilkieNation]

And I've used both a regular file and a dremel on my roosters nails. The dremel kinda freaked a few out but both worked

Dremels get super hot really fast from the friction, so you need to file in short bursts and keep checking the heat as you go.

 

[Trux]

So he is a good rooster and safe with people and the hens.
I have never used pinless peepers on a rooster but see no reason it wont work.
They work like goggles in that the chicken must use periferal vision instead of straight ahead vision.
It takes them a few days to figure it out but do well after some time of adjustment. If you put a pair of these on your rooster it would immediatly curb the aggresive chase down and rape method he is displaying now. He would be more concerned with navagation to overbreed giving your hens time to regrow those feathers.
It also on the other hand make him less of a good lookout and more prone to being picked off to a preditor during the day.
I think it would be a good humbling experience for him.
I purchased 24 goggles along with the tool to put them on from Amazon last fall when i adopted 6 production hens and got a feather picker in the bargain. My Bad girl wore the goggles for 6 weeks. Enough time for the others to grow new feathers past the pin feather stage. Took the goggles off and no more frather picking. I did have to pick her up and put her on the roosts each night for the first couple weeks.
Good luck with your big rooster!
View attachment 1784479

You have to get stick on eyes for these when you use them, it makes all the difference in the world for their attitude

 

[Trux]

Definitely get him a bachelor pad.

Well you should have given it to him for Christmas last year!