Hello all, I am new to this forum and new to raising chickens. I started in May this year with (3) 1 week-old chicks from a local classroom teaching project on how chicks hatch and grow. My 3 fluffy bundles of joy grew into 2 roosters (Steve and Red), and 1 hen (Butters). So far the whole experience has been rewarding, fun, and educational for me, until today. My favorite rooster (Steve) who up until now has been a regular little sweetheart, attacked me enrelentingly (pecking at my feet and legs, as well as holding on to my pantleg while pecking), until I finally had to really kick him away. It hurt me to have to and I know he was not injured by this, but his sudden retreat to his hutch saddened me as I felt we have changed our relationship for good. Can chickens/roosters not be pets?). I am worried that I may have to let my hubby take one of them away to the dinner table ( I'm a vegetarian). Butters is with Steve in their hutch, as Red pecks and pulls her head feathers out when the 3 of them are together. Now Red is alone in his hutch next to theirs. I have ordered 3 "commercial brown" hens which I will pick up as day olds in 2 weeks, to add to this motley crew when they are 8-12 weeks old. Should I end up with 1 rooster and 4 hens? or can I have the 2 roosters with 2 hens each split? The two roosters were permanently separated last week when Red brutally attacked Butters. Each rooster has a fenced grass yard with access to grass, shade, shelter, etc. Please help. Thank you.
I love both my roosters :(
I can tell this is hard for you; it sounds like you take good care of your birds. I was sad when my favorite rooster became aggressive, too. He was not particularly nice to the hens, either, and that is what helped me decide that his time with us was over.
I don't keep less than an 8:1 ratio of hens to roosters. Others will probably have different ideas, and of course the temperament of the rooster can make a big difference in this equation. A less forceful rooster (yes: some make wonderful pets, by the way) may do well with less hens, and a more energetic one may do better with more. But if you notice the hens seeming stressed or losing a great deal of feathers, something needs to change. I hate seeing hens with bare backs when there are plenty of more gentle roosters out there and, well, the hens don't need a rooster for egg laying, anyway.
In short, I do not believe you should split the roosters (each rooster with 2 hens), and I don't think your rooster's temperament will improve unless he's on his own with no hens, in which case he'd probably be miserable, seeing/hearing them nearby. He's just doing his job, but you're not the enemy and he's apparently not going to understand that. I'm sorry.
How sad. You [i]could[/i] keep both and have 2 flocks, but it's probably not the best solution.
Young roosters are especially clumsy with the hens. The one rooster you pick (I'd keep the nicer one) will learn some manners over time.
Mean roosters don't usually get nice, sorry.
You just might find a good home for the rooster you don't keep. Try offering him on craigslist.org (find your nearest city on the right side)
Thanks you guys, I am heartbroken. For now, they are split, I will find Stevie a good home :(. I appreciate your replies and sympathies.
another option is freecycle. Chickens and roosters go really fast on our freecycle list. It is sort of like craigslist, but just focused on swapping.
Years ago I decided I wanted to have some chickens. Trotted off to the tractor supply store and bought some baby chicks with the supplies. Ended up with a nice variety of lots of red hens and a half dozen roosters. That was 5 roosters too many ...lol.
I had a large beautiful barred rock rooster. He was so pretty to see strut around the yard. Now I had some trouble with the roosters being aggressive with one another and until then never realized roosters could be mean. But again it was with each other so I wasn't all that concerned with it.
Now one beautiful fall afternoon while I was doing dishes I watched my son, who at the time was almost 3, play at his swing set. He was all bundled up in a thick red winter coat with the hood pulled up . All of the sudden my barred rock came flying talons first (it looked like something out of a movie sideways thru the air) and hit my son in the back of the head. He was only a little guy and it knocked him over. The rooster then proceeded to flap up and down on his head as if he were stomping him with his talons. Thankfully my son fell face first onto the ground and the rooster was wailing on the back of his hood.
While it only lasted a few moments it seemed like forever before I managed to get to him. The swingset was only a few yards from the kitchen door. After making sure he was ok I then picked up my hatchet and killed my favortie rooster.
I haven't had chickens in quite a few years now , but everytime I get a hankering I think of that... sorta makes the "need to have" feeling go away.
Good luck placing him in another home.
~Julie =0)
Just a few days ago, I found a great home for my kinda goofy looking mixed breed rooster on craigslist!
The photo definitely helped get responses. I had 4 serious offers in less than 24 hours! I was surprised, because I never thought he was all that good lookin.
He went to a family with two kids aged about 6 or 7 years old. They have 10 hens and now they have my rooster!
I hate to throw this in here, but there are people who do whatever they need to to find aggressive roosters for fighting. It's illegal, but it goes on. I'd sooner kill him than throw him into that life. Sorry. Just something to consider.
Geez, good point. Lot of that around here.