Young Rooster Woes

FlockParty

Chirping
Apr 3, 2018
30
20
89
Berkley, MA USA
My Coop
My Coop
Hello! I've been reading posts in this forum for the last year since we got our hens. It's proven to be quite helpful and set my mind at ease many times. So I'm signing up to see what advise I can get for my flock's specific issue. We have these hens for eggs only, there's no plan to use them for meat... yet. They're all about 10 months old as of today.

We initially got 6, 4 turned out to be roosters. We gave one rooster away and traded two others for hens. So we kept one rooster to look over our tiny flock. He is now of breeding age of course and messing up one of my hens backs. As of right now, she appears to be in good spirits. With the flock and right by the rooster's side. She was avoiding him before we decided maybe it was time to let them out of the enclosure, but since we let them out to roam the yard last week, her behavior has improved and she's back "with the flock" all day. However the feathers on her back aren't growing back and there may be small cuts soon. I'm thinking I need to do something.

I was thinking of trying to wait until he's a little old before I made any major moves like getting rid of him all together. We didn't need a rooster, but I figured it might be good to have a protector around. How much long will it take for him to be "not young" anymore and settle down?! lol My plan as of this morning was to get some bacterial remedy for the hen in case there's a cut that I need to treat and possibly cover her back so the feathers can grow back with a Hen Saver... anyone use there before? http://www.hensaver.com/hen-saver-hen-apron-saddle.html The photo below shows a hen wearing one.

Maybe I'm over reacting. Never had chickens before. I was thinking if he just gets over this young faze he'll be an awesome rooster for my hens. What do you all think?
 

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How often do you let your chickens out? It's good enrichment for chickens to free range and explore outside of their usual area. Not only does this improve their mood but also allows them to have space away from each other as they search for insects and worms. I always like to have a rooster in with my flock. I find that it makes the hens happier so I wouldn't jump to getting rid of him. Considering he is 10 months old he should get out of that young annoying stage soon. However, he might just be a rascal of a rooster. It's all part of nature and as far as my chickens are concerned they tell the rooster off if they don't want anything to do with him. Your chicken is gorgeous by the way :)
 
He may be quite rampant right through this first season, until late summer/autumn when the days get shorter and it is moulting time but the hen saddle should protect the hen from any further damage in the mean time. Her feathers may not grow back in until she moults. Free ranging gives the rooster something else to occupy him than just wanting to breed, so it can be beneficial in these situations and if she is not actively hiding from him and depressed then she should be fine.
 
Oh that's not my chicken, it's just an example of a hen wearing that Hen Saver product I'm considering getting to protect my girl in question. I just updated the post to be more clear. Sorry about that. :)

The chickies have been coming out for the day since last week. We held off as long as possible because they were so small and we don't want hawks getting any funny ideas. I thought it would be best to give them all some more room to stretch out and get more nutrients in the yard. Fingers crossed things settle down nicely, but if not covered back idea might be the plan.
 
Oh that's not my chicken, it's just an example of a hen wearing that Hen Saver product I'm considering getting to protect my girl in question. I just updated the post to be more clear. Sorry about that. :)

The chickies have been coming out for the day since last week. We held off as long as possible because they were so small and we don't want hawks getting any funny ideas. I thought it would be best to give them all some more room to stretch out and get more nutrients in the yard. Fingers crossed things settle down nicely, but if not covered back idea might be the plan.
Oh my bad! Oh well, that chickens cute anyway haha!
I'm sure things will settle down soon. Good luck!
 
get a hen saddle/apron for all your girls as it can take months for feathers to grow back. My male will be a year in may/june time and he has his favs their backs are almost bare :eek: so I bough some hen saddles you could try ebay to see if someone has them cheaper.
 
get a hen saddle/apron for all your girls as it can take months for feathers to grow back. My male will be a year in may/june time and he has his favs their backs are almost bare :eek: so I bough some hen saddles you could try ebay to see if someone has them cheaper.

Yep, that's where my little Sweetie's back is going to be like if I don't do something. I think that's what I'm going to do, at least for this first year to see if he settles down in the fall. Fingers (and feathers) crossed! Thank you :)
 
UPDATE: So I got the Hen Saver I mentioned above with the eyes on it to keep the hawks away and to protect Sweetie's back until the feathers grow back. I managed to get this photo before I had to take it off and ordered another with no eyes. The rooster thinks she's the enemy with that on! He kept pecking her until I took it off. I'd advise only to get that kind if you don't have a rooster. Will update when we get refitted with the new saddle. :)
 

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