rooster rough when breeding hens

[sueandthe6]

I have two cochin roos who started breeding my girls within the last month or so. I am/have been looking to rehome one since the winter due to not having enough females. No luck so far. Now I have separated one because one of my leghorns has a huge wound in the back of her neck from the boys grabbing her to breed. I know part of it was likely due to not enough girls and over mating- but could this also be a lack of experience thing from the roos that might get better? I had hoped to keep one as I have a partridge cochin hen and thought maybe I'd hatch out some eggs and sell the babies but if this is not something the roo will get "better at" I don't want the hens beat up. The other smallish birds (2nd leg horn, red comet, and leghorn sixed mutt) are all fine- and of the bigger ones (the cochin, a brahma and two orpingtons) two have some feather loss but no broken skin so I don't know if maybe this leghorn pulled away too hard but I don't like it regardless If the boy(s) need to go to a stewpot I will do it- but don't want to jump the gun.

 

[CrazyTalk]

Is she squatting for him, or is he needing to run her down?

 

[sueandthe6]

the boys are running them down I think. I work several jobs so I don't get to interact with them much but it seems like once the boys are on them- they stand still- but it is a game of catch on the roosters part. took the leghorn to a friends tonight who has a lot of vet skills and knowledge and her thought was to leave the blood clot/scab intact and let it do what its gonna do. I am taking the other rooster out and going to see if the girls will leave her alone.

 

[CrazyTalk]

Getting down to 1 rooster will definitely help - but it's not going to stop until she accepts him and stops running. Is she a pullet, or an older hen?

 

[aart]

Having two or more males ramps their mating drive way up due to competition.
Get one cockerel out of there, sequester him out of sight and sound too(if possible) and chances are the other one will settle down.

Space can be a factor also, there should be plenty of space for the pullets to get away if they want...hiding places out of line of sight and/or up and away.

 

[sueandthe6]

not pullets-actually the leghorns are at least two years old- more likely 3 years. I got them early last summer and they had been laying for the guy I got them from already. I have one that I believe is younger than the rest-she volunteered to be part of my flock last fall and her eggs were small and daily without missing a beat. THey have gotten larger and a bit lighter in color but she still lays every day with no misses. Other than that- I think the rest are all the same age. The one rooster I had left in with them will run them all down- I have not seen any stand still. One of the orpingtons I saw stop once he was pretty on top of her- but she rebeled at first. The leghorn with the chewed up neck wont even come in at night now- she has spent the last two nights out of the coop free ranging which makes me a bit nervous with her injury and I do have fox. I may need to lock her down somewhere. Seems even with both boys out of the picture she is not comfortable around the girls. I have not seen any of them after her due to the injury- but maybe I just was not there for it. uggggggg