What do i do

[Chicken Confused]

5 roos & 5 hens. 1 roo in with hens but I feel in other roos running around is causing issues. Not sure what to do, also have a hen that is not receptive and now has 2 holes in back of her head, yes I'm treating the wounds. Wonder if I should trade the roos out? Is that a good idea?

 

[azygous]

Yes. Soup or put them up for adoption. Long ago, I had two extra roos and farms adopted them that had no roosters. Your boys will be a lot happier if you can find each a flock of his own. Your hens only need one roo, but since there aren't that many hens, you might think about rationing his access or he may wear them out. Roosters need around ten hens each to keep things on an even keel.

 

[3KillerBs]

Bluntly, eat the roosters.

Or, if you particularly want to have a rooster, eat 4 roosters, keep the best-behaved one, and get 5 more hens.

Is there a particular reason that you want a rooster?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome to the forum, glad you joined.

5 roos & 5 hens. 1 roo in with hens but I feel in other roos running around is causing issues.

The way I read this you have one boy in with five girls and the other four boys are in the vicinity but do not have access to the girls. Is this correct?

Not sure what to do, also have a hen that is not receptive and now has 2 holes in back of her head

First, how old are they? Do you really have mature roosters and hens or do you have immature cockerels and pullets? There can be a tremendous difference in behaviors between immature juveniles and mature adults. How old are the boys? How old are the girls? Are the girls laying yet?

How much room do they have? In feet or meters, in the coop and outside? When and where do these attacks take place?

yes I'm treating the wounds.

What do the wounds look like? Raw and bleeding or just missing feathers? A photo might help. To me there are two different things that could be going on. Have you seen him attacking her? What does that look like.

If a chicken is trying to kill another or just trying to beat it in a fight they often peck the head. That's where they can do the most damage, the head. Sometimes they just run up and peck the others head. Often, if they fight and one can't run away it lays down and tries to protect its head. The other chicken will often stand over them and keep trying to peck the head. This is very dangerous.

Is this part of mating? Part of the mating act is the head grab. The boy grabs the back of the girl's head, usually feathers but could be comb or skin. That head grab is the signal for the girl to raise her tail up out of the way so he can hit the target. The head grab and tail raise are instinctive. You would never get fertile eggs without them.

A few feathers coming off at the back of the head are not a big deal. What is a danger is if you get bare skin. Then a bleeding injury is possible.

Wonder if I should trade the roos out? Is that a good idea?

Maybe, it depends on what is going on. The more you can tell us about what is going on the more likely we can come up with something that might apply to your situation.

This might help too. What are your goals with chickens? How do those boys fit into your goals. The only reason you need a boy is if you want fertile eggs. Anything else is personal preference. Nothing wrong with personal preference, I have a few of those myself. My general suggestion is to keep as few boys as you can and still meet your goals. That's not because you are guaranteed problems with more boys but that more problems are more likely.

There are ways to keep more boys if that is what you want, but it helps to know what you have to work with to help determine what those ways might be for you. To help you we need to know what you have to work with and what you want to happen.

Good luck and once again,