Dilemma

[boomercd]

How old are the hens, and how old is the rooster?

Hens are 8.-7 months and the rooster.is 7 months

 

[boomercd]

I agree. In addition to everything else going on you need to do an integration. Often at least part of the problem is crowded conditions. Adding more birds makes crowding worse. That's just adding more girls, an additional boy can bring its own problems.


If they are still immature this might help.


Good questions


What are your goals with chickens? How does having that boy fit with your goals? The only reason you need a rooster is to have fertile eggs, everything else is personal preference. Nothing wrong with personal preferences, I have a few myself, but those are a choice, not a need.

I generally suggest that you keep as few males as you can and still meet your goals. That's not because you are guaranteed to have more problems if you keep more boys but because the more boys you have the more likely you are to have more problems. For many people the correct number is zero.

Getting rid of him does not mean you have to kill him, though that is an option. Culling him could involve selling him or giving him away. Since his head is bleeding you do need to do something. Pecking the head is how they try to kill each other. He needs to be separated until he heals and maybe until he matures enough to act more like a rooster than an immature cockerel, if he is that young.

Not hens and a rooster but pullets and a cockerel. Housing them separately for two or three months might help.

 

[boomercd]

Agreed. This age is a little tricky, and since the cockerel is younger and I'm guessing you got him later than the pullets, they're bossing him around. Separating him will help, but it won't fix anything if the birds don't have enough room. By the way, are the pullets LF, or bantams?

They are LF and house is 12x12 with lots of roost and 30x12 ft in closed run I thought they had enough room but maybe not

 

[boomercd]

I agree. In addition to everything else going on you need to do an integration. Often at least part of the problem is crowded conditions. Adding more birds makes crowding worse. That's just adding more girls, an additional boy can bring its own problems.


If they are still immature this might help.


Good questions


What are your goals with chickens? How does having that boy fit with your goals? The only reason you need a rooster is to have fertile eggs, everything else is personal preference. Nothing wrong with personal preferences, I have a few myself, but those are a choice, not a need.

I generally suggest that you keep as few males as you can and still meet your goals. That's not because you are guaranteed to have more problems if you keep more boys but because the more boys you have the more likely you are to have more problems. For many people the correct number is zero.

Getting rid of him does not mean you have to kill him, though that is an option. Culling him could involve selling him or giving him away. Since his head is bleeding you do need to do something. Pecking the head is how they try to kill each other. He needs to be separated until he heals and maybe until he matures enough to act more like a rooster than an immature cockerel, if he is that young.

 

[boomercd]

He is not bleeding but I have had to clean his head a few times in the past and I separated him once for a month but it seemed to make it worse when he was returned to the flock

 

[boomercd]

I agree. In addition to everything else going on you need to do an integration. Often at least part of the problem is crowded conditions. Adding more birds makes crowding worse. That's just adding more girls, an additional boy can bring its own problems.


If they are still immature this might help.


Good questions


What are your goals with chickens? How does having that boy fit with your goals? The only reason you need a rooster is to have fertile eggs, everything else is personal preference. Nothing wrong with personal preferences, I have a few myself, but those are a choice, not a need.

I generally suggest that you keep as few males as you can and still meet your goals. That's not because you are guaranteed to have more problems if you keep more boys but because the more boys you have the more likely you are to have more problems. For many people the correct number is zero.

Getting rid of him does not mean you have to kill him, though that is an option. Culling him could involve selling him or giving him away. Since his head is bleeding you do need to do something. Pecking the head is how they try to kill each other. He needs to be separated until he heals and maybe until he matures enough to act more like a rooster than an immature cockerel, if he is that young.

Don't want to raise chicks but I love to hear him crow and now I'm kinda attached. He's my only white crested I thought maybe he's crest was too tempting for the pullets

 

[boomercd]

What breed are the pullets? Since he's the only bantam amongst LF pullets that are also older than him, it makes sense as to why they attack him

 

[boomercd]

He is not bleeding but I have had to clean his head a few times in the past and I separated him once for a month but it seemed to make it worse when he was returned to the flock

He is full size taller than the pullets

 

[fluffycrow]

He is full size taller than the pullets

I'm sorry, have I misunderstood anything? You have a polish cockerel with older LF pullets. How can a bantam be taller than older LF hens

 

[boomercd]

What breed are the pullets? Since he's the only bantam amongst LF pullets that are also older than him, it makes sense as to why they attack him

He is taller than they are