Unpopular take: letting my chickens free range during breeding season was a bad idea

Last month in Phoenix I decided to let my hens roam the yard during peak rooster mating time, thinking it'd be natural. Three days later two of them had bloody backs from overzealous roosters doing damage. Has anyone else seen injuries spike when you let them out during spring?

2 comments

2 Comments

mitchell.mark22d ago

Yeah the sudden freedom definitely made mine more aggressive, I started rotating which roosters got out each day and it helped a ton with not tiring out the hens too fast.

martinez.karen23d ago

Wait were your roosters already getting aggressive before you let them out or did the change just trigger them? lol I had a similar issue last spring when I let my older rooster near the younger hens and he went nuts on them. Just wondering if it was the freedom or the breeding season timing that really caused the problem.