In all my years of chicken keeping, I've never had a rooster kill a hen. Never. If it happened during the night, I am confident in saying it was not your rooster. What kind of marks did she have on her?
My young rooster just killed one of the hens
- Thread starter jenmenke
- Start date
In all my years of chicken keeping, I've never had a rooster kill a hen. Never. If it happened during the night, I am confident in saying it was not your rooster. What kind of marks did she have on her?
Chickens sometimes just die of apparently nothing. So I wouldn't suspect the roosters unless their heads were pecked excessively which is what aggressive roosters will do sometimes.
- Jun 19, 2014
- 20
- 1
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- Jun 19, 2014
- 20
- 1
- 79
Hub says some blood around face and neck. Looks like she was probably pecked... I did read roosters will go after a dominant acting hen...12 other hens are ok.. Keeping them separated..
junebuggena
Crowing
Very doubtful it was a chicken that did the killing. Sounds more like a weasel-type killing.
dawn secord
Songster
Oh my - so very sorry to hear about your rooster and your hen. If you are sure, I'd probably get rid of him. What a horrid situation.
I have a personal question about budding roosters.
What age does a cockerel start covering the pullets. I have 5 bantam cochin / silkie cross chicks that are 8 weeks old ( I have the parents who are separated from the chicks). Two for sure are cockerels. Two might be cockerels and one is well - just don't know.
One of the cockerels was chasing the two maybe cockerels last night and grabbing on to their heads. They were screaming. Not sure if he was trying to cover them or hurt them. They are all fine now.
Any help you could give is appreciated.
I have a personal question about budding roosters.
What age does a cockerel start covering the pullets. I have 5 bantam cochin / silkie cross chicks that are 8 weeks old ( I have the parents who are separated from the chicks). Two for sure are cockerels. Two might be cockerels and one is well - just don't know.
One of the cockerels was chasing the two maybe cockerels last night and grabbing on to their heads. They were screaming. Not sure if he was trying to cover them or hurt them. They are all fine now.
Any help you could give is appreciated.
Most roosters don't start mating until around 4-5 months. Generally before that they will dominate and grab the girls just to grab them. If they are being that bad at 8 weeks they are probably going to be trouble. I will separate out trouble makers like them. Sometimes they improve as they get older but often they don't.
junebuggena
Crowing
Depends on the boy. I've had cockerels as young as 8 weeks old attempt to mount. It's a big reason I like integrating chicks into the main flock as young as possible. The adult hens and roosters keep the young males in their place.
Cochins tend to be very slow to mature, and it's likely that it's just pecking order related for your chicks.
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