There are two main reasons they do this.
The usual culprit is too much light when they are roosting at night.
The coop needs to be very dark with no lights inside overnight.
The other main reason is overcrowding. Provide more roosting space or reduce the size of the flock. Chickens roosting in limited space maintain the "pecking order" and the lower ranked birds get on the roost with the "boss" birds then get picked on.
Put your rooster in a different enclosure than your hens. Or maybe get your rooster checked out by a veterinarian to see if he maybe injured which may lead your hens to target him like they do. Chickens have a bad habit of picking on other weak or injured chickens, so this maybe the reason why your hens are attacking your rooster.
You don't. The feathers are pulled out as a result of mating. When the rooster mounts the hen he uses his beak to grasp and maintain balance while standing on the hens back. He does not pull feather from the back of the hen, these are worn away from what is called the saddle and are a result of his feet. The saddle area of the hen is low on the back near the tail and is where the rooster puts his feet while mating. All this is normal and all will grow back during the next molt at which point the rooster will find a new favorite hen and not bother the molting hen as much.
No The laying mash or pellets are fine for the rooster. There really is no way to stop the rooster from eating the same things you feed the hens other than keeping them separated. My hens are fed laying crumble all year long and the roosters thrive on it.
shoot it
usually the ratio of hens to rooster is about 15 hens for every rooster. If you keep them separated an extra rooster is not a problem but in a flock of 24 hens,you will have some squabbling between the dominant rooster and the #2 .
No. Chickens will lay perfectly good eggs without a rooster. In fact, many people prefer not to keep a rooster, because they don't want to find a fertilized egg that was a little too far along.
Hens are female (girls) and roosters are male (boys).
Fry it
rooster
never noticed any change...
no. they will lay without a rooster
Shoot It with a shotgun right in the head!!
A good ratio is 1 rooster for every 15 hens. Many farms keep more hens than that and only one rooster, but that keeps him very busy.
No The laying mash or pellets are fine for the rooster. There really is no way to stop the rooster from eating the same things you feed the hens other than keeping them separated. My hens are fed laying crumble all year long and the roosters thrive on it.
shoot it
Yes, a rooster will be happier with hens around.
Yes, a rooster is a male chicken. Hens are female.
usually the ratio of hens to rooster is about 15 hens for every rooster. If you keep them separated an extra rooster is not a problem but in a flock of 24 hens,you will have some squabbling between the dominant rooster and the #2 .
Nope.