what to do with horney rooster (besides cook him)

[dandar]

I have 2 buff Orph hens and a rooster..and i have a Barred hen..They all get along very well...however I have on of the Buff hens that the rooster WILL NOT LEAVE ALONE... he has her back down to few to no feathers in spots..I tried the back protector things and he became very angry at her and me..so once it was off he was fine again..The barred rock has a few loose feathers on her back but nothing like my buff...the other buff Orph hen he rarely even bothers...I have tried separating her during the day and she flew out of the pen (soon to have a fence top) and so i tried clipping his wings and put HIM in the cage...but he managed to get out (just constructing our pen so not real well sealed) I think he got out by the gate....when either one is in the pen NONE of the chickens will leave the fence LOL (funny to watch)..I am concerned about this hens back...Don't want to eat the rooster as he is a beautiful thing and a pet..BUT also want to try to see if i can raise some chicks....I am planning to order some baby chicks when the weather warms and I have a small isolation cage inside the run and am wondering (age permitting) that this would be a way to intigrate the new chicks to the others....
Wondering if putting the poor (sex abused hen) in the isolation cage and put the rest of them in the run if it will give her a rest and let some of her feathers grow back...
thanks for any input ahead of time....everyone here is great with feed-back

 

[justplainbatty]

I have 2 buff Orph hens and a rooster..and i have a Barred hen..They all get along very well...however I have on of the Buff hens that the rooster WILL NOT LEAVE ALONE... he has her back down to few to no feathers in spots..I tried the back protector things and he became very angry at her and me..so once it was off he was fine again..The barred rock has a few loose feathers on her back but nothing like my buff...the other buff Orph hen he rarely even bothers...I have tried separating her during the day and she flew out of the pen (soon to have a fence top) and so i tried clipping his wings and put HIM in the cage...but he managed to get out (just constructing our pen so not real well sealed) I think he got out by the gate....when either one is in the pen NONE of the chickens will leave the fence LOL (funny to watch)..I am concerned about this hens back...Don't want to eat the rooster as he is a beautiful thing and a pet..BUT also want to try to see if i can raise some chicks....I am planning to order some baby chicks when the weather warms and I have a small isolation cage inside the run and am wondering (age permitting) that this would be a way to intigrate the new chicks to the others....
Wondering if putting the poor (sex abused hen) in the isolation cage and put the rest of them in the run if it will give her a rest and let some of her feathers grow back...
thanks for any input ahead of time....everyone here is great with feed-back

I would separate the roo for now. I would also put the saddle back on the hen to protect her feather growth from any ones' picking. Once the new hens are old enough and integrated, the roo will have matured and have more hens to choose from. If he is lonely, try putting the hen he doesn't bother in pen with him for a few hours a day. Several of my hens wear saddles(they go insane for a few hours when you put it on) and the roos deal with it. My hens have stopped running away screaming because their backs are protected, it doesn't hurt anymore to get mounted.

 

[azygous]

I've had the good fortune to have had four roosters since I've been keeping chickens. I've loved them and enjoyed being entertained by them. But when the hens began to be upset by all the unwanted attention, I decided the roosters did not need to be with the hens all the time. When I found that two new chicks would be turning into cockerels, giving me a total of three roosters, I decided to build separate quarters for the boys.

I recommend it highly. It takes the pressure off the roo, the hens can relax, and you have a whole lot less problems to deal with.

Roosters are quite content to simply be in view of the hens and be able to talk to them. There is absolutely no need for constant mating. At one point I decided some Cochin chicks would be nice, so my Cochin hen spent a half hour with the Cochin roo each day for a week or so, until I had enough fertilized eggs. Then he went back to being a bachelor. Everyone was content with the arrangement.

 

[donrae]

What do you mean you tried a saddle and he became angry with her and you? What exactly did he do, to you and the hen? He's not cognitivly able to have the process to attack you because you put a saddle on the hen, that's just too much brain power for a chicken. And why did you remove the saddle?

I'd be asking myself why I need this particular rooster. Are these genetics something you really want to pass on to the next generation? Is this the behavior you want your young cockerels to see and learn?

 

[justplainbatty]

Let me see if this was the scenario. You put the saddle on the hen. She went nuts, running in reverse, crawling around like a cockroach ect. He got between you and the hen with some attitude because you upset her. At the same time he was pinning/pecking her to say, "hey, I'll not have these theatrics in my house, settle down!" You mistook this for anger. When you removed the saddle she settled down and then so did the rooster. Is that close?