Feeling so guilty for re-homing my rooster

[Jcolette]

Hi y'all, I will preface this by saying I am a new chicken keeper and am coming into my first year with my flock. I had a 9mo old buff orpington rooster who I loved, but he was beginning to really wreak havoc on my hen's backs. I have 7 hens, which I know was not enough and ended up having to put 2 in saddles, and 1 of them was injured. Ultimately my husband and I decided to re-home him, and he went to go live on a farm with a much larger flock. I was not expecting to be as devastated as I have been but I really am regretting it, and I can't help but wonder if we made the right decision. He wasn't overly sweet, but also not very aggressive either (he got feisty with me a couple times but overall it wasn't really an issue). We probably would have been able to add 3-4 more hens, but I don't know for sure if that would've fixed the issue, as he definitely had his favorites. I would love to have another rooster at some point so I need to know: did I give up on him too quickly? Is it possible since he was young that he would've calmed down eventually? I have been feeling so guilty and doubting myself all weekend so would love any input.

 

[Acre4Me]

Solve * ALWAYS * for the peace of the flock. You did make the right decision. Not all roosters are a good fit. Enjoy your chickens, the antics and the eggs.

 

[Ridgerunner]

We probably would have been able to add 3-4 more hens, but I don't know for sure if that would've fixed the issue, as he definitely had his favorites.

Adding more girls seldom solves this type of problem, it just means you have to go through an integration. That can cause problems.

I had a 9mo old buff orpington rooster who I loved, but he was beginning to really wreak havoc on my hen's backs. I have 7 hens, which I know was not enough and ended up having to put 2 in saddles, and 1 of them was injured.

It is possible it was his fault. He may have been overmating those two and using bad technique. It is possible those two had "brittle feathers" where they break off easily even if he does everything perfectly. I had a flock about that age with one male and eight girls. Two developed bad feather loss so I ate those two, leaving me with six girls. Those barebacked problems went away and did not return. It was not a ratio issue.

But to me the key phrase is "1 of them was injured". At that point you had a choice of getting rid of him or getting rid of her. I'm not going to fault you for your choice.

did I give up on him too quickly? Is it possible since he was young that he would've calmed down eventually?

It's possible, anything is possible, but by 9 months he should have calmed down quite a bit. Most of mine calm down by 7 months but each one is unique.

I have been feeling so guilty and doubting myself all weekend so would love any input.

Quit that. You made a rational decision based on what you were seeing and what you knew at the time. Many of us would have made that decision. There are too many good roosters out there to put up with a bad one or one that does not fit.

 

[fowltemptress]

Do not feel guilty! I know, easier said than done, but there's nothing wrong with wanting to save your hens from stress.

That said, and without intending you to second guess your decision, in my experience most of my roosters calm down considerably after their first year. The teenage boy hormones settle down, and they've had time to practice and be gentler on the girls. They also get less, um, randy, so the girls get more breaks between matings.

BUT . . . your mileage may vary. I've seen roosters that never lose their drive, or roosters that never seem to hone their technique to the point they're less rough on the girls. Sometimes a rooster isn't so bad, but suddenly decides he loves one hen more than all the others, and she becomes a mess from all the attention. Sometimes a rooster can be perfect, but something startles him or the hen mid-deed and the hen winds up accidentally injured from a wayward spur catching her. You never know.

If it makes you feel any better, from your description I would have rehomed that rooster if I were in your place. I am willing to, and do, keep multiple roosters, but I will not keep one that gets feisty with me, even if it's only a couple of times and relatively minor. There are a lot of really good roosters out there, despite the stories of all the feisty to downright mean ones, and there is nothing wrong with letting other folks handle the feisty ones while you wait for one that fits your flock better.

 

[Jcolette]

Solve * ALWAYS * for the peace of the flock. You did make the right decision. Not all roosters are a good fit. Enjoy your chickens, the antics and the eggs.

Thank you for this. My husband and I kept saying that it seemed like we were sacrificing the well-being of 7 for the well-being of 1 and that didn't feel right.

 

[FunClucks]

If he belonged to another person, they might have eaten him. So super kudos to you for finding him a home with a nice large flock in the country. He's living his best life with many, many more hens to mate. From his perspective, he's probably loving it. No need for guilt on your part. Will you miss him? Yea, probably for a while. But you did what what right to solve for peace in the flock. If you were using chicken saddles and they were still getting injured, there's an issue.

BTW, my favorite chicken saddles are Down Under chicken saddles out of Australia. Those things are durable like anything and work great for years. They poof up a little for air circulation. Protected many of my hens' backs. So if you do roosters again, consider those.

 

[Jcolette]

Adding more girls seldom solves this type of problem, it just means you have to go through an integration. That can cause problems.


It is possible it was his fault. He may have been overmating those two and using bad technique. It is possible those two had "brittle feathers" where they break off easily even if he does everything perfectly. I had a flock about that age with one male and eight girls. Two developed bad feather loss so I ate those two, leaving me with six girls. Those barebacked problems went away and did not return. It was not a ratio issue.

But to me the key phrase is "1 of them was injured". At that point you had a choice of getting rid of him or getting rid of her. I'm not going to fault you for your choice.


It's possible, anything is possible, but by 9 months he should have calmed down quite a bit. Most of mine calm down by 7 months but each one is unique.


Quit that. You made a rational decision based on what you were seeing and what you knew at the time. Many of us would have made that decision. There are too many good roosters out there to put up with a bad one or one that does not fit.

I can definitely say he was very rough and clumsy in his mating technique, so I don't really feel confident that more hens would've been the solve just as you said. Thank you so much for this detailed response; I really appreciate it!

 

[Jcolette]

Do not feel guilty! I know, easier said than done, but there's nothing wrong with wanting to save your hens from stress.

That said, and without intending you to second guess your decision, in my experience most of my roosters calm down considerably after their first year. The teenage boy hormones settle down, and they've had time to practice and be gentler on the girls. They also get less, um, randy, so the girls get more breaks between matings.

BUT . . . your mileage may vary. I've seen roosters that never lose their drive, or roosters that never seem to hone their technique to the point they're less rough on the girls. Sometimes a rooster isn't so bad, but suddenly decides he loves one hen more than all the others, and she becomes a mess from all the attention. Sometimes a rooster can be perfect, but something startles him or the hen mid-deed and the hen winds up accidentally injured from a wayward spur catching her. You never know.

If it makes you feel any better, from your description I would have rehomed that rooster if I were in your place. I am willing to, and do, keep multiple roosters, but I will not keep one that gets feisty with me, even if it's only a couple of times and relatively minor. There are a lot of really good roosters out there, despite the stories of all the feisty to downright mean ones, and there is nothing wrong with letting other folks handle the feisty ones while you wait for one that fits your flock better.

Thank you for this! I know he had a bit of a double whammy against him with being both young and going into his first spring, so I know it's possible he could've calmed down, but at the same time it's a big "what if"and I probably wouldn't forgive myself if he really did horrible damage to one of my hens.

And thank you, that does honestly make me feel better. I think I objectively knew it was the right choice, but hearing other responses from more experienced chicken keepers helps a ton.

 

[Jcolette]

If he belonged to another person, they might have eaten him. So super kudos to you for finding him a home with a nice large flock in the country. He's living his best life with many, many more hens to mate. From his perspective, he's probably loving it. No need for guilt on your part. Will you miss him? Yea, probably for a while. But you did what what right to solve for peace in the flock. If you were using chicken saddles and they were still getting injured, there's an issue.

BTW, my favorite chicken saddles are Down Under chicken saddles out of Australia. Those things are durable like anything and work great for years. They poof up a little for air circulation. Protected many of my hens' backs. So if you do roosters again, consider those.

You're so right! Maybe I'm too big of a softy (I definitely am lol) but I wanted to try and give him a second chance to be on more space with more hens. It didn't feel right for me personally to have him killed for something he was just doing instinctively. I do realize that there are great roosters out there and I hope to have one in the future, so knowing what I know now is a big help.

And those are actually the saddles I have and love them! The injuries occurred before the saddles so I used them to prevent any further damage. I'm super happy with how durable they are.

 

[LaFleche]

Thank you for this. My husband and I kept saying that it seemed like we were sacrificing the well-being of 7 for the well-being of 1 and that didn't feel right.

This exactly. Your pullets/hens will be relieved.

And your cockerel found a great new home, so no reason to feel guilty at all.