Life is always the opposite of what we expect it to be. Nothing can be planned. Just when you intend to move forward, the walkway crumbles and you fall backward.
Back in April, a chick had hatched beneath one of our hens. In June, another hatched from a different hen. Sure enough... we discovered both are cockerels here in July after early morning tiny crows.
Not too long after the discovery, an older rooster of ours took to being nasty with us and the hens while all the same influencing my other birds to temporarily concur. We removed him from the flock, thinking this was a blessing in disguise. Having a coop of hens without a rooster made it easier to test the waters of which birds work with which.
We put Buster, the 4 month old cockerel, with a flock of our older hens. He crows... he struts around... but he does not defend himself. The hens took to being the aggressors... making him cower in the corner. I rather that than him fight a hen... but I don't want him injured.
He became our friend and we took care of him. We held him, we spent time with him. We tried him with different flocks... but each began having a reason to bicker.
I assumed that at some point a pecking order would be established. But I'm tired of constant arguments between all of our birds. I'm fed up with birds that give our flock(s) stress.
Finally, we took Buster and put him in an old baby pen. He relaxed... he wasn't bullied...
But then he started pecking at our hands when we fed him. He started fighting through the fence with other hens... now, even becoming the aggressor of our birds. Is this payback for being the end of the chain?
Buster's the son of my best rooster. He's what I hoped would one day take over for his Father, protecting the hens and being our breeding supply. But now Buster's turning sour.
Should I put him with the toughies to learn his lesson and establish an order? Are there any suggestions for taming him? He's obviously not old enough for spur clipping- the bumps aren't even developed. And culling is not an option. I'm keeping him away from other birds for now... hoping to tame him to us first. What should I do?
Thank you for reading- I'm in for any suggestions.
Back in April, a chick had hatched beneath one of our hens. In June, another hatched from a different hen. Sure enough... we discovered both are cockerels here in July after early morning tiny crows.
Not too long after the discovery, an older rooster of ours took to being nasty with us and the hens while all the same influencing my other birds to temporarily concur. We removed him from the flock, thinking this was a blessing in disguise. Having a coop of hens without a rooster made it easier to test the waters of which birds work with which.
We put Buster, the 4 month old cockerel, with a flock of our older hens. He crows... he struts around... but he does not defend himself. The hens took to being the aggressors... making him cower in the corner. I rather that than him fight a hen... but I don't want him injured.
He became our friend and we took care of him. We held him, we spent time with him. We tried him with different flocks... but each began having a reason to bicker.
I assumed that at some point a pecking order would be established. But I'm tired of constant arguments between all of our birds. I'm fed up with birds that give our flock(s) stress.
Finally, we took Buster and put him in an old baby pen. He relaxed... he wasn't bullied...
But then he started pecking at our hands when we fed him. He started fighting through the fence with other hens... now, even becoming the aggressor of our birds. Is this payback for being the end of the chain?
Buster's the son of my best rooster. He's what I hoped would one day take over for his Father, protecting the hens and being our breeding supply. But now Buster's turning sour.
Should I put him with the toughies to learn his lesson and establish an order? Are there any suggestions for taming him? He's obviously not old enough for spur clipping- the bumps aren't even developed. And culling is not an option. I'm keeping him away from other birds for now... hoping to tame him to us first. What should I do?
Thank you for reading- I'm in for any suggestions.
