I got a new roo about a month ago and he is just WAY to rough during breeding. He jumps on her back like a bird of prey, talons extended and smashes them to the ground, grabs a huge mouthful of any part within reach, wing, comb, beak, neck, ANYTHING and eventually gets them bred and the hen loses several feathers and so much stress she went off laying for six weeks. I happen to know this roo grew out in a super stressful pen mostly full of various ages of roos and and less hens than roos, so there was tremendous competittion for breeding and rank, which may have contributed to his lousy social skills with the ladies. All the breeding I saw in that pen was hit and run.
I want some babies from him probably for at least a year or two. I have only one hen I need bred to him, so I keep them in adjacent pens. When I go to do chicken chores I just toss the hen in with him and they have a short wild rodeo and the second she is bred I pull her out and she is back with her flock of half grown juveniles, stress free for another twenty four hours. It cuts her stress down enough that she is still laying. Yesterday it took him ten minutes to corner her in a three foot pen. Today it was about five seconds. I'm hoping they will figure it out and he will eventually become a decent breeder.
I want some babies from him probably for at least a year or two. I have only one hen I need bred to him, so I keep them in adjacent pens. When I go to do chicken chores I just toss the hen in with him and they have a short wild rodeo and the second she is bred I pull her out and she is back with her flock of half grown juveniles, stress free for another twenty four hours. It cuts her stress down enough that she is still laying. Yesterday it took him ten minutes to corner her in a three foot pen. Today it was about five seconds. I'm hoping they will figure it out and he will eventually become a decent breeder.
