Do chickens(roos) breed at night?

[MareeZoCool]

Friday night around 12:00 I heard loud cacklings in my chicken's hutch. My hen sounded terrified. One chick was crying, 'till it sounded dead. In the morning, the hutch was littered with the hen's feathers, her egg smashed in her nest. The chick is gone, I presume she's dead. Saturday & Sunday that roo kept attacking the hen viciously, tearing out her head & neck feathers.
No signs of a predator breaking into the hut, everything looks secure, no rips or tears in the chicken wire or the plastic covering.Sunday night, BOTH of my hens refused to return to the hutch for sleeping. I found all 5 chickens on the tailgate of our truck. The hens were seperate, at least 3' apart from roo. the roo was huddled with the two chicks. This morning, they all looked good when I opened the hutch. The hens are sticking close to each other~ far from roo. The 2 chicks are together, seperately free-ranging but still keeping a close proximity and in view of the hens. friends say Friday night's noises HAD to be caused by a predator, since the one chick is missing.

Personally, I think roo was attacking the hen. AND I may have not gotten that one chick secured in the hutch B4 locking up. No body, feathers, or other signs of blood of that chick.

Any opinions, from you wise & experienced chicken rangers would be appreciated.

 

[Dar]

sounds like a nasty roo

 

[sourland]

No, roosters do not breed and are not active in the dark. My guess is that you were visited by a predator of some sort. Refusing to enter the coop is usually a sign of mite infestation or predation. The rooster was probably hyper after the attack and was taking it out on the broody hen. Secure your chickens, and set your hav-a-hart trap. Goos d luck!

 

[MareeZoCool]

Quote:
My hubby looked at me asif I was nutty, talking about the HAVE-A-HEART trap........ Where do I find one? TSC or the feed store?

 

[MareeZoCool]

Quote:
I thought the roo was to blame. I've seen him mounting this same hen, long after lock-up. I placed him in the hutch 1 hour after the hen& hutch were secured one night last month. Roo has a bad habit of roosting on my lawnmower at dusk.

 

[rancher hicks]

Since the chicks is gone I would suggest a predator who couldn tear the hutch apart. Perhaps a weasel or mink. Chickens go crazy in an attack and that can cause deaths as well as the attacker. Chickens can die in the panic.

My first and only pred attack resulted in the chicks not wanting to go back in. I cleaned the coop from top to bottom and rearranged the roost so things looked new. I stayed inside to comfort them for awhile. I would have slept in there if I had to. I have a light inside when I check each night.

I will admit a young roo can be rough, not sure he will mate in the dark. Atttacking the hens is not usual.

I suggest cleaning the coop to get rid of any smells a pred may have left and move it to another location if you can. Anything to make it look new. Stay with them for a while each night. My other suggestion will be pm'd.