separating over-mated hens

[Ziggy1973]

I'll try to keep this long story short. Thirteen months ago I ordered 14 female chicks and 1 male chick. As time passed it became apparent that there were 2 cockerels. The less dominant one seemed to be a late bloomer, not sure if that's normal or not, but seemed to not be so interested in mating. Fast forward a few months and suddenly my girls are being constantly mated by both boys. I eventually got rid of my dominant rooster as he had become extremely aggressive but the damage was already done. I had 4 girls with completely bare backs and feathers missing off their heads and wings. I thought things would get better with the more easy going rooster in charge but I've noticed a couple more of the girls are showing signs of being over-mated now. I have 2 coops so I'm wondering if I should separate out the bare back girls until their feathers grow back? How long would that take? Or would I just be setting up the other hens to be over-mated as well? Bert is a good rooster aside from this but wonder if it's worth keeping him around. I know there are benefits to having a rooster even if you aren't wanting fertile eggs but my girls being happy and healthy is my priority. Thanks for any insight or advice!

 

[sourland]

Why not try separating the rooster from the flock - allowing him time to mature and settle down and the hens time to regrow feathers.

 

[LaFleche]

He might also be in need of a rooster pedicure, trimming/filing back the claws and spurs.

 

[neo71665]

Remove rooster till he calms down. If you are worried about fertile eggs then get or make some chicken saddles.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I had 4 girls with completely bare backs and feathers missing off their heads and wings.

If the entire feather is gone they should start growing back within a few weeks. If any part of the shaft remains the feathers will not grow back until they molt.

Or would I just be setting up the other hens to be over-mated as well?

There is only one way to find out. Many people keep one rooster with just a very few hens without any problems. Others have problems with a lot more hens than you have. In my opinion from what I've seen the ratio of boys to girls isn't important in this, there are other factors much more important.

This type of stuff is more common with immature juveniles than mature adults. Yours are over a year old, they should have calmed down by now, but it's possible he is just a late developer. Or he may never grow up and learn good technique. With living animals you never know. He very well could be the problem.

I know this is hard for some people to accept but sometimes I don't blame the boy. I once had one male and eight females, just a bit younger than yours. Two of the girls became barebacked so I ate them. That left six girls with the boy. None of them became barebacked. How could I blame the boy when with a worse ratio there were no problems? I think those two had brittle feathers, the feathers were very easy to break. If the boy had not been there I would have never known. These things are not always as straight-forward as you hope.

Why do you want that boy? The only reason you need one is if you want fertile eggs. Everything else is personal preference. Nothing wrong with personal preference, I have a few myself. But those are wants, not needs. So what do you want more?

So what can you do? You can isolate the four girls from the flock and see how the rest get along. Make your decisions after you see what happens. It may be easy to decide if others develop problems.

Isolate the boy for a while. Maybe he will mature enough so the problem goes away. You may be surprised at how happy the flock is when he is gone.

If you decide you don't want the boy after all, get rid of him.

I don't know what the right answer is for you. I try to decide for the peace and health of my flock. I don't have individual pet chickens, I have a flock that can have changeable parts. That's why I can remove girls if I think they are a problem. Not everyone thinks the way I do.

Good luck!

 

[Ziggy1973]

Why not try separating the rooster from the flock - allowing him time to mature and settle down and the hens time to regrow feathers.

I guess I had read on a post on this sight that a lot of people think it's cruel to isolate the male. I'm sure willing to try it!

 

[Ziggy1973]

He might also be in need of a rooster pedicure, trimming/filing back the claws and spurs.

I'll do some research on this to see if it's something I think I could do myself. Thanks

 

[Ziggy1973]

If the entire feather is gone they should start growing back within a few weeks. If any part of the shaft remains the feathers will not grow back until they molt.


There is only one way to find out. Many people keep one rooster with just a very few hens without any problems. Others have problems with a lot more hens than you have. In my opinion from what I've seen the ratio of boys to girls isn't important in this, there are other factors much more important.

This type of stuff is more common with immature juveniles than mature adults. Yours are over a year old, they should have calmed down by now, but it's possible he is just a late developer. Or he may never grow up and learn good technique. With living animals you never know. He very well could be the problem.

I know this is hard for some people to accept but sometimes I don't blame the boy. I once had one male and eight females, just a bit younger than yours. Two of the girls became barebacked so I ate them. That left six girls with the boy. None of them became barebacked. How could I blame the boy when with a worse ratio there were no problems? I think those two had brittle feathers, the feathers were very easy to break. If the boy had not been there I would have never known. These things are not always as straight-forward as you hope.

Why do you want that boy? The only reason you need one is if you want fertile eggs. Everything else is personal preference. Nothing wrong with personal preference, I have a few myself. But those are wants, not needs. So what do you want more?

So what can you do? You can isolate the four girls from the flock and see how the rest get along. Make your decisions after you see what happens. It may be easy to decide if others develop problems.

Isolate the boy for a while. Maybe he will mature enough so the problem goes away. You may be surprised at how happy the flock is when he is gone.

If you decide you don't want the boy after all, get rid of him.

I don't know what the right answer is for you. I try to decide for the peace and health of my flock. I don't have individual pet chickens, I have a flock that can have changeable parts. That's why I can remove girls if I think they are a problem. Not everyone thinks the way I do.

Good luck!

Thanks so much for your input! The only reasons I want a rooster is for flock protection and the fact I like listening to him crow and court the ladies. For sure a want, not a need. I'll separate him from the girls for a while to see how the flock dynamic might change and give the girls a break. And maybe trim his nails and spurs.

 

[Stephine]

Thanks so much for your input! The only reasons I want a rooster is for flock protection and the fact I like listening to him crow and court the ladies. For sure a want, not a need. I'll separate him from the girls for a while to see how the flock dynamic might change and give the girls a break. And maybe trim his nails and spurs.

It has not been long but I am curious how things are going!

 

[Ziggy1973]

It has not been long but I am curious how things are going!

Thanks for asking! The girls seem happy enough though there are some that hang at the fence that separates them from Bert when he "pitches woo", lol. I am worried about Bert and wonder if this is cruel to do to him. He's crowing a lot more than usual, will sometimes pace the fence and will still try to tidbit the girls when I give him treats even though they're in their side of the run. I still feel that I need to give the girls a break and let them heal before putting them back together..."the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one"...Right? If he wasn't such a nice rooster he'd be gone but now I wish I'd done more research before getting a rooster. I had no idea they were so rough on the hens during mating and my poor girls look awful.