Alright, so we've had chickens for years, but only hens, never roosters. I liked my little hen nunnery we were running, buuuuut was tired of always having to order shipped eggs or chicks to add in new blood and the DH was sick of being outweighed by the ladies on the farm by 25 to 1. SO, we decided to keep a rooster and things were going really well. So far, there are a ton of things I like about him. He's super diligent looking out for predators, keeps the girls from straying off on their own when free ranging, is always finding little treats for the hens, loves on the girls equally, has shown no aggression to us, etc. He's also been incredibly helpful in training our new little farm puppy not to mess with the chickens by providing some well timed pecks to the nose when the puppy was brand new and got too close to the hens. BUT...he is super awkward doing the "deed". He is young, just coming up on 7 months, and so far the issue hasn't been pulled feathers, but bloodied combs and earlobes. On 6 separate occasions this weekend I had to clean up bloodied hens and I have no doubt I'll have more to deal with throughout today. I've watched him and he grabs straight for their combs (pea combs, straight and all in between) and rips them all up in the process causing them to gush blood all over the place. I really like this guy, really I do, but my first love is for my hens and I won't put up with all this injury to the girls, not to mention constant comb doctoring to make sure it doesn't become a pecking issue. I want to give him a chance, but is it likely he's going to get better at this or will it just keep getting worse as he gets larger? ETA: The handsome fella in question...
Thanks for the input guys, I appreciate it! I'm going to give the fella a little more time to get his moves to groove. I'm feeling better about the situation since I came home yesterday for the first time in a week and didn't have anyone covered in blood.
