mean and horny rooster

[Wesjosy]

We have 5 roosters now. One of our silkie bantam roosters is beautiful but boy is he horny
and attacks the hens when ever he can. Even out female sexlinks. They are so scared of
him that they refuse to go into the same coop. What can be done? We have isolated him
right now.

 

[cc chickens]

Isolation is the best thing (or you can eat him or sell him) Ive had to do that with one of my roos, hes a complete bully to everyone. So we have made him a bachelor's pen.

 

[aart]

We have 5 roosters now. One of our silkie bantam roosters is beautiful but boy is he horny
and attacks the hens when ever he can. Even out female sexlinks. They are so scared of
him that they refuse to go into the same coop. What can be done? We have isolated him
right now.

Why do you have so many cock/erels?
How old are they?

 

[Wesjosy]

They are all 4 months old. We tried giving 3 roosters away the people never
responded. Then my husband said no we will keep them all. They all seem
to get along except Brutis our mean & horny one. So we are keeping him in his own area.
He is a beautiful bird.

Thanks for your interest.

 

[Monguire]

Hmmm, I don't mean for this to come across as preachy but there's really no other way than to be direct. As good chicken stewards, we should all strive for harmony and balance in our flocks. As such, we have a responsibility to do what is necessary to maintain a safe, comfortable environment for our fluffy-butts to (hopefully) thrive in. To that end, this site is chock-ful of opinion, experience and best-practices for just about every situation/scenario. I follow the common best-practices of:

Nutrition - make sure chooks are getting quality ration and access to clean, fresh water
Security - make sure chooks have a secure (from predators) coop area to perch at night
Space - make sure chooks have adequate space in the coop (2-4 SqFt per bird depending on size) and run (10SqFt per bird)
Ratio - make sure chooks are apportioned correctly if having roos is desired. Best-practice calls for roughly (lots of variables figure into this) 8-10 hens per 1 rooster. A lower ratio (fewer hens) leans toward more wear (sexual attention) and stress on the hens. A higher ratio leans toward lower fertility (more hens to keep 'serviced') but is only really a consideration if one relies on breeding for income

You haven't provided much detail on how many chooks, how much space, how kept (one coop, multiple coops, etc) so we can only offer limited suggestions. The bottom line is take responsibility for the welfare of your flock dynamic. Sounds like you might have too many roos and likely don't keep them separate from your girls. Sounds like plans fell through for giving away some of your roos, always have a Plan B prepared. If we can't sell our excess cockerels, we give them away. If nobody wants them for free, we process them and toss 'em in the freezer for future consumption. The absolute worst option is to leave them free to screw up the hen:roo ratio and terrorize the poor hens. You've isolated your beautiful butthead from your hens...that's a great first step. I've found that planning the next steps get easier with the great stewardship advice on this site and just plain ol' experience.

As an aside, I share your anguish over your beautiful roo. Our first round of fluffy-butts, we ended up with two cockerels. Roo A was a nondescript Buff Orp but treated the hens ok. Roo B was an absolutely AMAZING Black Australorp...perfect feathers, beautiful green sheen, large - even for a BA. Truly seemed like a show-quality bird. The quandary was that he was a butthead to the girls and he showed signs of human-aggression. As much as I would have loved to have kept/bred him, it wasn't worth the stress to the girls and ultimately I didn't want his bad-behavior traits in my chook's gene pool. Silver lining...he made a GREAT soup that nourished my family for two days.

Ultimately, only you can decide what is best for your situation. With all things chicken, I've found that in keeping the overall welfare of my flock paramount, the solutions to concerns/issues usually reveal themselves quickly...though they weren't always the easiest solutions (culling/processing...many a tear shed) for me to implement. Hard as those lessons were, it gave me a better appreciation for where my food comes from and an intense desire to see that my flock live as comfortably as possible before they are harvested to feed my family.

 

[aart]

They are all 4 months old. We tried giving 3 roosters away the people never
responded. Then my husband said no we will keep them all. They all seem
to get along except Brutis our mean & horny one. So we are keeping him in his own area.
He is a beautiful bird.

Thanks for your interest.

4 months is just the start of the 'horniness'.
Multiple males will create an environment of chaos, aggression, and over-harassment of the females.
If you're going to get straight run chicks, or hatch your own chicks, you've got to deal with the excess males.

It's inhumane, IMO, to allow a bunch of males wreak horny havoc on my layer flock.
I harvest them to eat by 13-16 weeks old, wonderfully crispy skin on the grill, and the grilled bones make excellent bone stock.
I can't afford to feed animals who don't feed me with either eggs or meat.....well, except for my one dog.

If they are a special pure breed, and there's market for them in your area, then maybe you can sell them to make some money.
Many people will take them(for free) to fill their families stomachs.
If you just can't bear for them to be eaten, then it's best to provide them a separate enclosure where they won't harm the rest of your flock.