Hi Members! I really need some advice here.
My family and I recently adopted a handicapped rooster with curled toes named Knuckles. We saw him at a local animal refuge and I immediately fell madly in love with him and adopted him. We currently have 11 hens that range from one year to 2 years old.
We have Knuckles sectioned off in the run with plenty of room to move around. He is already standing taller and gets around pretty well considering his disability.
The first night the hens went into the coop for bedtime he started to cluck and wanted in with them but was blocked by the fence so he slept in his dog house. The second night he tried to push himself through a tiny gap in the fence and I was afraid he would either get stuck or hurt himself, so I ran and got my husband and we pulled part of the wire back and he tried to get up the coop ramp but couldn't balance. So we quick screwed a wider plank to the ramp and he made it inside and slept on the floor happy as could be! The next morning he was out in the run with the hens but they started to attack him so I got him to the other side and separated him from them again.
Now it's been almost a week and that guy can get into the coop with no problem whatsoever. However, some of the hens are becoming vicious towards him the few minutes they are together and he's hiding in corners or wedging himself between food cans. I can't stand it and am wondering if I'm expecting too much? Will he ever be accepted by the hens or do they sense his disability and will never accept him into the flock? We have a huge run attached to the coop so space is not the issue at all. Right now he has a 6 foot wide, 18 foot long area and it's completely roofed about 15feet at the peek. Should we give it more time or make plans to secure his area better and just leave him to enjoy his own space without the hens getting to him? He's so sweet and he's got a better quality of life at this stage of the game. He doesn't crow...yet...mostly because he was around other roosters that would attack him if he made his presence known.
Any advice would be helpful. I'm not giving up on Knuckles or my evil hens..... just want to do the right thing.
Thanks in advance!
Lisa
My family and I recently adopted a handicapped rooster with curled toes named Knuckles. We saw him at a local animal refuge and I immediately fell madly in love with him and adopted him. We currently have 11 hens that range from one year to 2 years old.
We have Knuckles sectioned off in the run with plenty of room to move around. He is already standing taller and gets around pretty well considering his disability.
The first night the hens went into the coop for bedtime he started to cluck and wanted in with them but was blocked by the fence so he slept in his dog house. The second night he tried to push himself through a tiny gap in the fence and I was afraid he would either get stuck or hurt himself, so I ran and got my husband and we pulled part of the wire back and he tried to get up the coop ramp but couldn't balance. So we quick screwed a wider plank to the ramp and he made it inside and slept on the floor happy as could be! The next morning he was out in the run with the hens but they started to attack him so I got him to the other side and separated him from them again.
Now it's been almost a week and that guy can get into the coop with no problem whatsoever. However, some of the hens are becoming vicious towards him the few minutes they are together and he's hiding in corners or wedging himself between food cans. I can't stand it and am wondering if I'm expecting too much? Will he ever be accepted by the hens or do they sense his disability and will never accept him into the flock? We have a huge run attached to the coop so space is not the issue at all. Right now he has a 6 foot wide, 18 foot long area and it's completely roofed about 15feet at the peek. Should we give it more time or make plans to secure his area better and just leave him to enjoy his own space without the hens getting to him? He's so sweet and he's got a better quality of life at this stage of the game. He doesn't crow...yet...mostly because he was around other roosters that would attack him if he made his presence known.
Any advice would be helpful. I'm not giving up on Knuckles or my evil hens..... just want to do the right thing.
Thanks in advance!
Lisa