Roosters wreaking havoc on our hens...what do I do?

[JJSS89]

Some of those are pretty drastic for that young...I'd guess there's some pecking going on as well as just treading damage.
Cockerel ratio seems fine number wise, but individual personality can play a factor too, plus they're young so competition is a huge factor.

How big is your coop (feet by feet)?
What and how exactly are you feeding?

Added animal protein can help, especially indicated if they are eating the picked feathers.

Depending on your needs for roosters, it might be best to remove 2 of them.
I found that removing the competition immediately calmed things down.

I agree with this but the level of pecking is so significant on some of these hens. I've never seen any rooster or roosters that would breed that hard and heavy. This looks like the whole flock is pecking to me

 

[Ridgerunner]

First and most important, get rid of those two roosters or isolate them in a bachelor pad so they cannot get to the hens.

In addition to JJSS89’s list I’ll add that some hens have brittle feathers. Even if the rooster is doing nothing wrong the feathers just break really easily. I’ve solved the problem of barebacked hens in my flock by eating the hens that were barebacked. That got those genetics out of my flock. If you plan on hatching chicks you might consider not hatching eggs from the hens with the worst of the problem. I have not had a bare backed hen problem in years. Sometime my hen to roster ratios are not that great, and those are cockerels not mature roosters.

A fairly recent poster had some barebacked hens in a flock of one rooster and over 40 hens. I think part of the problem was the rooster was a brute and some hens had brittle feathers. I’m not a huge fan of specific hen-rooster ratios. I always suggest you keep as few roosters as you can and still reach your goals. That’s not because it stops all fighting, barebacked hens, over-mating hens, or anything like that, but that the flock is more likely to be peaceful with fewer roosters. You’re just less likely to have problems. Some roosters are brutes.

JJSS89 am I correct in assuming your breeding pairs and trios are mature adults and not juveniles? Age can play a big part. At 10 months old they are possibly still in the stages of adolescence with hormones running wild and not a lot of control. It’s possible if you isolate them for a few months they will mature out of that stage but that is not a given. From the behavior you describe I don’t think the outcome of waiting would turn out really well. Get those genetic out of your flock. It’s nice when cockerels mature early instead of late.

When you remove those two you will change the pecking order and maybe flock dominance, especially if one of those cockerels is pretty high in the flock dominance order. You may see some drama down there, but it should quickly sort itself out. After just a few days the flock should be a lot more peaceful.

If those feathers came out totally they should grow back fairly soon. If they broke and a part of the shaft is still in there, the feathers will not grow back until they molt.

Good luck with it.

 

[JJSS89]

JJSS89 am I correct in assuming your breeding pairs and trios are mature adults and not juveniles? Age can play a big part. At 10 months old they are possibly still in the stages of adolescence with hormones running wild and not a lot of control. It’s possible if you isolate them for a few months they will mature out of that stage but that is not a given.

Definitely true, younger roosters are clumsy and more anxious. I've got a several breeding pairs that are all younger than a year old, hens don't suffer any feather damage. Of course that is the whole purpose of a breeding program - to breed for traits you like.

I probably got off on a tangent in earlier posts. There are some schools of thought that seem to think if you get rid of a rooster then all your problems will be solved and that just isn't the case at all.

 

[Ckahler]

Our poor Australorp is looking even worse. I'm waiting to hear back from someone who wants the roosters. Should I remove the hens that are badly plucked until they can recover a bit? We feed them a mixed feed that we get from a granary near by. It is crushed. They also get fruit/veggies, meal worms, and crack. I want to deal with this the best way possible while trying to get these roosters out. I"m tempted to let them roam in my back field but I'm afraid they will crow all night long.

 

[SD Bird Lady]

If Yu have a spot to move the hens to....why not move the roosters to that spot? I may be missing something, but just curious.

 

[Ckahler]

I don't really have a spot per se. I have 2 giant dog crates that I could put in our barn or garage for a few days. Today we r letting the roosters roam out of the coop and run. My concern is that the other hens may now be picking on those hens like others have mentioned. These roosters can't be pinned togetherin close quarters.

 

[Percheron chick]

Paint the exposed skin with some blu kote. You can also just use some blue or green food dye if you've got that.

 

[Ckahler]

would black dye work? What exactly does the dye do? We've got the roosters apart now. I've been putting animal scents ointment on them from Young Living and it seems to be helping and I'm starting to see some regrowth on a few hens.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Chickens are attracted to red, especially blood red and meat red. They like to eat stuff that color, even if it is a living flockmate. Dyes can change that color and sometimes distract them.

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome! I also think that removing the offending cockrels is the best idea. Also, you may have a diet problem, if the extras are too large a % of their daily diet. Maybe Flock Raiser as a higher protein feed? I have had hens that had issues with feather quality and bare backs; they were moved on and the problem disappeared. Genetics! Mary