lildarlinshine
Chirping
We live in a community where chickens are often free-ranging or dropped off. Our home is at the end of the street, and over the past two or so years we’ve had roughly 50 hens and a few roosters pass through or linger.
When I find a hen sitting on a clutch, I usually intervene and raise the chicks in holding pens until they’re about 6 to 8 weeks old, since predators are a constant threat. At the moment, we have a stable flock of 10 hens and 1 rooster who live together peacefully.
Last year, I rescued a rooster who was close to dying after being repeatedly attacked by the main roaming rooster that stays with the hens. That rescued rooster survived and has mostly kept to himself since then.
We also have three young roosters, about 3.5 to 4 months old, that I raised from chicks and allowed to free-range. There was originally four of them, but one was killed about a month ago. These young roos get along well and move together as a little bachelor flock. They’re clearly terrified of the two adult roosters on the property.
There is one roaming adult rooster with the hen flock who does not bother the young males at all. The problem is the rescued rooster. He has no flock of his own, and until recently, he stayed mostly to himself. Over the last month, though, his behavior has changed.
We now believe he killed one of the young roosters about a month ago. Today, I heard screaming unlike anything I’ve ever heard and ran outside to find the rescued rooster viciously attacking one of the young roos. This young rooster is not part of the bachelor group and normally avoids all adult roosters, running, flying, and hiding from them.
When I got outside, the young rooster was on his back, limp, while the older rooster was jumping on his chest. He looked dead. His comb was nearly torn off and his eyes were bloody. I carried him inside and put him in a cage. He remained limp for a while, but a few hours later he stood up. He’s alive, very shaken and scared, but seems stable for now.
My question is this: what do I do about the rescued rooster? He has no flock, he’s now aggressively attacking younger roosters, and this behavior seems to be escalating. He was saved from this exact kind of abuse a year ago, yet now he appears to be inflicting it. He’s about 20 months old.
Is this likely to continue or worsen? Am I going to have to remove him from the property?
When I find a hen sitting on a clutch, I usually intervene and raise the chicks in holding pens until they’re about 6 to 8 weeks old, since predators are a constant threat. At the moment, we have a stable flock of 10 hens and 1 rooster who live together peacefully.
Last year, I rescued a rooster who was close to dying after being repeatedly attacked by the main roaming rooster that stays with the hens. That rescued rooster survived and has mostly kept to himself since then.
We also have three young roosters, about 3.5 to 4 months old, that I raised from chicks and allowed to free-range. There was originally four of them, but one was killed about a month ago. These young roos get along well and move together as a little bachelor flock. They’re clearly terrified of the two adult roosters on the property.
There is one roaming adult rooster with the hen flock who does not bother the young males at all. The problem is the rescued rooster. He has no flock of his own, and until recently, he stayed mostly to himself. Over the last month, though, his behavior has changed.
We now believe he killed one of the young roosters about a month ago. Today, I heard screaming unlike anything I’ve ever heard and ran outside to find the rescued rooster viciously attacking one of the young roos. This young rooster is not part of the bachelor group and normally avoids all adult roosters, running, flying, and hiding from them.
When I got outside, the young rooster was on his back, limp, while the older rooster was jumping on his chest. He looked dead. His comb was nearly torn off and his eyes were bloody. I carried him inside and put him in a cage. He remained limp for a while, but a few hours later he stood up. He’s alive, very shaken and scared, but seems stable for now.
My question is this: what do I do about the rescued rooster? He has no flock, he’s now aggressively attacking younger roosters, and this behavior seems to be escalating. He was saved from this exact kind of abuse a year ago, yet now he appears to be inflicting it. He’s about 20 months old.
Is this likely to continue or worsen? Am I going to have to remove him from the property?
