Young cockerel drawing blood on hens combs

[Phoenixsw]

Hi everyone,

I have a 5 month old Blue Splash Cochin and I'm not sure if he's just clumsy, or if he's doing it on purpose, but I have 3 adult hens with damage at the rear and base of their combs. Is this normal, will he get better, or is it a bad behavior or just bad aim? I know regular mating and dominance behaviors, and that biting on the back of the neck is normal, but I can't really find anything about this. I've sprayed Blu-Kote on the wounds, but I don't want the situation to get worse bcuz I know quickly they go cannibal on each other.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

At that age they're not very romantic or good at this. They get ahold of anything they can.
That's how they roll.

 

[aart]

Are the hens submitting to him, squatting and letting him mount??
You might want to isolate him until he's a bit more mature to keep your hens from being injured.

 

[chickens really]

Yeah, he is an over eager breeder....He will calm with age.....No need to remove him.....


Cheers!

 

[aart]

Yeah, he is an over eager breeder....He will calm with age.....No need to remove him.....


Cheers!

Torn combs is a really good reason to remove him.

 

[chickens really]

Vaseline the combs on the Hens.....Chickens are simple ...........Thanka aart.......no need to separate.....


Cheers!

 

[azygous]

You need to segregate this little novice Don Juan. Some cockerels, as they're coming into their hormones, are overly zealous, clumsy, and they can easily damage the hens in their exuberance.

He'll be quite content to girl watch from the other side of a barrier. Give him a few months or until he's close to one year. The hormones will eventually settle down, and he'll be a little more measured in his efforts.

Part of it is that he's so young and new that the older hens may be putting up a fierce resistance that further invites him to inflict injury. Segregation within view of the hens will give them time to accept him without having to go through the trial and error of an young upstart's learning curve.