Alpha Rooster is dead, flock is acting ODD!

[MysteryChicken]

Oh dear. I thought maybe he was just acting out since the other rooster is gone now. One of our 10 week old chicks is a cockerel.... looks like he may end up taking our current one's place.

Depending on your location, I have a couple friendly roosters who need to be rehomed.

 

[JedJackson]

Losing the head rooster will change a flocks dynamics, and chickens don't like change. They should sort it out eventually.

Or it may be that the timing of the alpha rooster's culling coincided with something else that is causing the hens to stop laying. Lice and mites have been mentioned. But it could be something else, too. Even something as small as a change in feed or something new being placed in the coop can set them off. So a little investigation on your part might find a different cause for the problem.

As for aggressive roosters, you did the right thing and I think you should cull the current one, too, since he attacks people. If the young replacement you have in mind is related to the other two then it might be time to start fresh and bring in an unrelated rooster. Aggression in roosters can be hereditary.

 

[OzarkChooks]

Depending on your location, I have a couple friendly roosters who need to be rehomed.

We live in south west MO

 

[OzarkChooks]

Losing the head rooster will change a flocks dynamics, and chickens don't like change. They should sort it out eventually.

Or it may be that the timing of the alpha rooster's culling coincided with something else that is causing the hens to stop laying. Lice and mites have been mentioned. But it could be something else, too. Even something as small as a change in feed or something new being placed in the coop can set them off. So a little investigation on your part might find a different cause for the problem.

As for aggressive roosters, you did the right thing and I think you should cull the current one, too, since he attacks people. If the young replacement you have in mind is related to the other two then it might be time to start fresh and bring in an unrelated rooster. Aggression in roosters can be hereditary.

Would moving their coop bother them? We recently moved their cooped to a fenced in area.

I was hoping by fencing in the rooster, I could give him a chance to mature without being able to hurt the kids.

 

[McChooky]

Would moving their coop bother them? We recently moved their cooped to a fenced in area.

I was hoping by fencing in the rooster, I could give him a chance to mature without being able to hurt the kids.

Chickens hate change.

 

[McChooky]

Would moving their coop bother them? We recently moved their cooped to a fenced in area.

I was hoping by fencing in the rooster, I could give him a chance to mature without being able to hurt the kids.

I hope you can find someone on BYC that'll give you a good rooster about a year old from an established flock they've raised for many years. We had a flock for many years when I was growing up .Our roosters weren't aggressive like Jefferson or Bruno because our rooster and older hens would have drop kicked him and taught him some manners.

 

[McChooky]

Ok so over a month ago my husband culled one of our roosters due to aggression. Ever since then, the pullets (6 month old) have been acting strange. There is still another rooster for them, but it doesn't seem to matter. All of them stopped laying the day after Jefferson was culled. Since then only two have resumed laying. Also, the previously docile beta rooster is now the only rooster and is not docile anymore. Is this normal behavior?

Altercations between the flock leaders(rooster)and caretakers can cause an interruption in laying.Culling one or two roosters over this flock may take some time to adjust to.(It resets the pecking order every time you add and remove a new hen or rooster and does the same when they're removed) I would be hesitant to add more stress on my young layers by adding another rooster esp from your own flock.Moving the coop is likely the cause of them all not laying except 2. Since they are inexperienced hens with a proven track record for producing aggressive roosters it gives you a perfect opportunity to looking elsewhere for replacements .

 

[MysteryChicken]

We live in south west MO

I'm in Michigan, so that maybe a bit of a travel.

 

[JedJackson]

Would moving their coop bother them? We recently moved their cooped to a fenced in area.

I was hoping by fencing in the rooster, I could give him a chance to mature without being able to hurt the kids.

Yes, that could well be the cause of the halt in laying, or it could be a combination of that and loss of the head rooster. Chickens do hate change, but in time they adjust. I hope they start laying again for you soon.

 

[OzarkChooks]

I hope you can find someone on BYC that'll give you a good rooster about a year old from an established flock they've raised for many years. We had a flock for many years when I was growing up .Our roosters weren't aggressive like Jefferson or Bruno because our rooster and older hens would have drop kicked him and taught him some manners.

Jefferson and Bruno were both part of our first group of chicks we got from a hatchery. All our different aged chicks are from the hatchery as well. So no genes are getting passed around here . It might be a lost cause but I'm going to still keep working with Bruno. I'm unfortunately very fond of him. If I get another rooster, I definitely want an older one from a flock!