Rooster pulling out head feathers

[AllysonChaynes]

Hello,

I have a 8-month old Americauna Bantam rooster who is quite the "romantic". Unfortunately, he is a bit rough and pulls the hens' head feathers out. I understand why he does this...but am hoping there is a product that will deter or at least lessen this. He has pulled all of the feathers off the Bantam hen's head and many feathers off the Rhode Island Reds. Yes, he even mates with the "big" girls (for you 'Game of Thrones' fans...think Tyrion!

)

Anyway, I have heard of products such as Blue Kote, Hot Pick and Pick-No-More and using Udder Balm. Has anyone tried any of these or other solutions that have worked? The poor bald hens! Eventually, someone is going to get a cut or other wound from all this feather pulling.

One suggestion that I was given was to trim his upper beak (just a little) using dog nail clippers. This makes us a bit nervous, so any advice on this would helpful.

I appreciate any assistance you can share. THANK YOU!!

 

[Wyandottes7]

How many hens do you have? Sometimes, roosters will be hard on hens if you don't have enough of them. Ideally, you want at least eight hens per rooster. However, even if you have enough hens, some hens will be favorites, and they'll get more damaged than the others.

Preventing feather pulling on the head is going to be hard, as you can't really cover it with an apron/saddle like you can if its on the back. I don't think that applying Bluekote would help much-- if he's pulling them out when he breeds them, the BlueKote won't stop him from doing that. Trimming his beak slightly will help if the beak is too long, but he'll still be able to pull some feathers out.

If the hens start getting seriously injured (bleeding, etc), you may have to think about either getting more hens or perhaps getting rid of your little rooster. Any bleeding wounds on your hen's should be sprayed will BlueKote, and they should be isolated until they heal.

I'm sorry I can't be more helpful. Hopefully, somebody else who's dealt with this problem more will come along and help you some more.

Good luck with finding a solution!

 

[crowcreek]

I am having the same problem. My bantam Roo is pulling the feathers out of just one of the hens. I only have three right now and they are brahmas. The bigger two do not let him get away with much so may poor smaller brahma gets it constantly. No bleeding yet but she looks horrible.
I am getting six more chicks by May. I hope Edith can deal with it until they get older!

 

[realsis]

I've used peck no more when my older hen was bullying my little ones and it worked wonderfully! It does not smell good and they will usually peck once and them that's all because they can't stand the smell. I was able to use it for about a week and she stopped pecking them. It worked well for me. You might try putting some on her head and see if it will solve your problem. It worked for me.its a thick purple lotion. Best wishes. Hope this helps.