IS THIS ROOSTER TOO ROUGH ON THE HENS!

[Russ580]

This rooster has 10 ladies in play & 5 have raw backs? i need to decide whether or not to eliminate him from the flock. Right now he's separated. 1 is in currently in home hospital because of weakness.

 

[lagrange chicks]

If your not planning on hatching chicks he would have to go if he was mine if all the girls look like that.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

What breeds? Sometimes even gentle roosters cause raw backs if the sizes are too different or the hens just have more fragile feathers

 

[wrathsfarm]

How old is he? How old are the girls?
That's not unheard of or rare, just an overzealous roo and it is springtime. You could try saddles for the girls or you could pen him up during the peak morning/night mating times.
How is he overall as a rooster? Is he good to the girls? Or is he an aggressive mater?
If he's still young and a good roo/cockerel overall I wouldn't cull him.

 

[Ridgerunner]

If you notice in that photo he is pulling feathers from the back of her head as part of the head grab. The head grab is a necessary part of mating. That is the way he tells her to raise her tail up out of the way so he can hit the target. Whether on her back or the back of her head it is not unusual for an occasional feather to come out. It is when you get bare spots that there is a danger. He could cut her with his claws (or spurs if he is old enough to have spurs) or with his beak on the back of her head. Often it looks worse than it is but I don't like the way this one looks, especially the head.

If he is young he may not have matured enough to have the respect of the girls and has to use brute force. Usually that is only with a few girls where most still submit willingly. A rooster much larger than the hens can be a problem but that does not really account for the back of the head.

I think you are either dealing with a young cockerel that has not matured enough to gain their respect and cooperation and has to rely on brute strength or one that is just a brute by nature and has a horrible technique.

If it were just the bare backs I'd say it is possible he will grow out of it but the back of the head worries me. I'd get rid of him and replace him with another if you feel you need or want a rooster. There are too many good ones out there to put up with a bad one.

@Russ580 I'll apologize here for my rant. There are 10 girls and one boy. The perfect ratio according to a lot of people on this forum. Yet there are problems. To me those ratios don't mean a thing. You can have success or problems whether the ratio is large or small. Each flock is different and can be changed by adding or subtracting one chicken.