Getting rid of the rooster...

[Scout Finch]

I know this is going to sound like a dumb question, but I'm going to ask it anyway because I don't know the answer!

I'm new to chicken raising. I got my first chicks in March and they are now 8 months old. I thought I was getting 4 pullets (from a bin at Tractor Supply) but ended up getting one rooster and three hens. I didn't want to keep the rooster, but didn't know what else to do with him so we just kept him. My chickens are in their coop/run for the better part of the day. I let them out to free range for about 3 hours every evening before they go to roost. The rooster has gotten progressively mean…he's attacked several people now (including my son) and while he hasn't done any serious damage, he scares the heck out of my kids. When I go out there I always have to be on guard because he watches me like he's just looking for his chances. The only reason I haven't gotten rid of him is because he does such a great job of guarding his girls when they're free ranging. But I have somebody who is willing to take him, and I'm contemplating it. I have no attachment to him whatsoever, but I worry about the hens. They've not known a world without a rooster looking after them. Will they miss him? I don't mean to say that in the sense that they would miss him like people, but would they not monitor their own behavior as well without him? Just wondering what to do with him.

 

[Scout Finch]

I should add that one of the things I worry about is whether or not the hens will return to roost on their own without the rooster herding them in. He seems to be very concerned that they return to the coop at night, and I don't want to lose any of them if I can help it.

 

[Mrs. K]

they will return just fine to the roost. Most hens are glad when a mean roo is gone.

 

[donrae]

The hens will be fine. One of them will step up and be lead lady, and take over alerting the others when something's amiss. They'll still roost at night, and you'll enjoy your flock so much more without the rooster.

 

[Mahlzeit]

The hens will be fine. One of them will step up and be lead lady, and take over alerting the others when something's amiss. They'll still roost at night, and you'll enjoy your flock so much more without the rooster.

Agreed

 

[bobbi-j]

Your rooster has attacked several people including your son? Get rid of him. Tell the person taking him that he is human-aggressive and then send him packing. He's a liability. What if you have a child visiting your place and gets seriously injured by this bird? Make him gone ASAP. As the others have said, your hens will be fine.

 

[Scout Finch]

Yes I know he needs to go. I've just worried about my hens being as safe once he's gone. Even though he's a jerk to us, he's not mean to the hens and he takes his job of looking after them very seriously. The kids stay out of his way and he doesn't bother them as long as they don't approach him. Still, I hate him and want him gone. The person who wants him knows he's mean but he's going to put him in with 25 hens and is very experienced with chickens and said he isn't worried about it. He's a big handsome rooster so I guess he's appealing on that level. I don't understand why they turn mean. He was hand raised by the kids...it has devastated them for him to turn on them. I guess it has been a good life lesson about the nature of animals, though. Thanks for the reassurance!

 

[donrae]

Yes I know he needs to go. I've just worried about my hens being as safe once he's gone. Even though he's a jerk to us, he's not mean to the hens and he takes his job of looking after them very seriously. The kids stay out of his way and he doesn't bother them as long as they don't approach him. Still, I hate him and want him gone. The person who wants him knows he's mean but he's going to put him in with 25 hens and is very experienced with chickens and said he isn't worried about it. He's a big handsome rooster so I guess he's appealing on that level. I don't understand why they turn mean. He was hand raised by the kids...it has devastated them for him to turn on them. I guess it has been a good life lesson about the nature of animals, though. Thanks for the reassurance!

This is often why they turn mean. Roosters don't have the mental wiring to be good pets, they're livestock. Roosters raised as pets do not have any respect for humans and believe they're dominant over said humans. In the chicken world, subordinate birds groom dominant birds, so all that handling and loving on him when he was younger told him he was dominant. In the chicken world, the dominant bird takes the highest perch, so letting him ride on your shoulder, carrying him, etc shows him he's dominant to the human. It's counter-intuitive, pretty much the opposite of raising say a dog, but they're really different animals and need to be treated differently.

Just fyi in case you get another rooster.

 

[Scout Finch]

I never thought of it that way, but that makes perfect sense!! I will say that the kids didn't handle the chicks for long (maybe three weeks or so)...only while they were in the house under the brooder light. Once they went outside, all of that stopped pretty much and it turned into just feeding/watering, etc. And it wasn't obvious that he was a rooster for a good six weeks or so. But maybe even that short time of sitting on their laps and being carried around had too much impact on his behavior.

I won't EVER be getting another rooster, so no worries there!

 

[Pnoah1]

I know this is going to sound like a dumb question, but I'm going to ask it anyway because I don't know the answer!

I'm new to chicken raising. I got my first chicks in March and they are now 8 months old. I thought I was getting 4 pullets (from a bin at Tractor Supply) but ended up getting one rooster and three hens. I didn't want to keep the rooster, but didn't know what else to do with him so we just kept him. My chickens are in their coop/run for the better part of the day. I let them out to free range for about 3 hours every evening before they go to roost. The rooster has gotten progressively mean…he's attacked several people now (including my son) and while he hasn't done any serious damage, he scares the heck out of my kids. When I go out there I always have to be on guard because he watches me like he's just looking for his chances. The only reason I haven't gotten rid of him is because he does such a great job of guarding his girls when they're free ranging. But I have somebody who is willing to take him, and I'm contemplating it. I have no attachment to him whatsoever, but I worry about the hens. They've not known a world without a rooster looking after them. Will they miss him? I don't mean to say that in the sense that they would miss him like people, but would they not monitor their own behavior as well without him? Just wondering what to do with him.

What I like to do with my roosters, is that I display that I am the alpha rooster. I basically snag them up and walk around the yard with my roosters when I set them down if they display signs of being mean or fluffing up or stomping displaying a wing I snag them back up and continue to walk around with them tucked under my arm. We thought that would be a problem as well but I quickly dispersed this situation with my roosters and they all know better and happily live with the hens and people that come over. Roosters are good for flocks in that they protect the flock and sometimes give up there lives to protect the flock that is why it is good to have at least one rooster among your hens. I would suggest putting some long pants on and a long sleeve shirt on and trying this.