New trade to upgrade Flock...BoooHoooooooooo!

Well Guys I had to make the ultimate decision! Do I keep the sweetest Rooster in the world who really isnt going to help improve my bloodlines or keep the Rooster from Hades!
I want to improve my line of Marans and get several Hens. I would like some of each Maran bloodline. To keep the dark eggs going and to improve the quality of color from the offspring, I need to keep my gorgeous French BCMaran Roo, who just is the most anti-human rooster in the world!
My Sweet RoHo , Blue Laced Red Wyondotte, is a gentle and loving pet . But I have to separate them all the time for fighting. I only had one Wyandotte hen too. So the decision was made.....sigh...Roho was traded for 4 new baby FBCMarans.

This is Taz , My Devil!

Two of the new BCMaran babies, who need a clean pen after our thunderstorm!

Another cutie Pie~!

Oh wow.. He was a handsome guy! :( Your new babiez are darling!~!!!

Eufaula, That was a French bcm in the pic of the rooster that I put in the thread of managing roosters. He was raised by me originally and I never had a problem with him. I sold him to a friend and his wife and daughter went out to feed him and he attacked both of them. The daughter got away clean but the wife really took a beating with several cuts on her legs and a couple on the back of her neck. After two series of domination with the wife doing it with me present, she has never had a problem with him since and thats been over a year ago. Not always sure why they go after some and not others? I have always wondered if color played a part...Hay

Haystack, Taz is my next challenge! I will tame that sucker or in the pot he goes!! I will have to go out before day light when he is on the roost to get my hands on him! If I have to walk around all day with him , I will do it! He isnt old enough to have very long spurs yet, but they are just starting , enough to do damage!
He is going to learn whos boss this weekend or dress up a delicious pot of dumplins!!

Oh by the way... all of my Maran babies died, all at the same time! I later found out that a sibling and died just before I got them . So this makes me wonder if they were sick before hand! Im giving up on having any Marans for next year.

Very sad about your Marans! It does sound as if they were already infected.

Do you - or anybody - know whether rooster spurs can be removed? On of my roosters seems to have lost one of his and I thought it might be nice if they were all gone.

Porkpal, that is a good question, and the answer is yes. They can be removed, and it's almost painless. I have a friend who takes pliers and just twists them off. At first I thought "OUCH" I spoke with a vet about it as I wasn't sure about whether it was a good idea or not. The vet said he thought it best if they were sniped off with a pair of dikes, but that the pliers had been used is the past by others. He also said to use medicated baby powder if there was any bleeding. I'm no authority on it and have not done it but thats what I have been told...Hay

Eufaula I'm so sorry about your loss, that is heartbreaking. I do know that at times when chicks are transfered at a very young age the stress can be to much and makes them very susceptable to coccidiosis. They die very quickly, even within hours at that young age...This is the heartache of loving these young birds and it is very hard...Hay

It was a shock to come home to 3 babies dead and one gasping and trying to breathe. I am assuming that it was Cocci. To lose all of the new babies and none from the "home team", leads me to believe it was something that they definitely brought with them, or as you say Hay , were just to young to cope with.
In any case, I have given up on trying for Marans . May be I'll get a couple from the Devil Taz and his one and only Hen "L'amour" next Spring!

Eufaula was there any bloody poop? That is so sad! If it were cocci, you would see a lot probably. I'm sorry that happened.. so frustrating!

Honestly ZZ, I have no idea about their poop. They were in a chicken wire broody cage and 4 feet above ground, so all the poop was gone befor you could examine it.

Sorry about your chicks.

Too bad.. but I still kinda think you'd see blood.. even on the wire.. cause when they are bad enough to die from it, there is quite a bit of blood.. and it's bright red.. Either way.. they are gone and so is the poop... :(