Have you dealt with this before? Advise needed!

[aart]

You're not dealing with a rooster(cock), you're dealing with a young cockerel just starting to feel his testosterone.
Almost any bird will feed on a bloody flock mate, they are carnivores.... possibly to the level of cannibalism.

When you see blood in the flock or overt aggression, you watch closely and do some separation by mesh if necessary.
Cockerels and pullets all of the same age can be the worst and shockingly violent for the new chickeneer.....
.....steep part of the learning curve, where romance meets hard reality.
This is especially true if space is small and male to female ratio is low.

Provide lots of space and places to hide 'out of line of sight' and/or up and away from aggression.
Separate by wire if necessary.
He may calm down he may not, only time will tell.
Best of cLuck to you!

 

[Mrs. K]

Here is my advice.

* measure your coop, is it big enough?

* get rid of this rooster

* just keep hens for one year, get some experience

* Next year, look around for a mature rooster. People tend to cull mean roosters first, no one really likes to cull, so nice roosters get to live longer, even if a person doesn't need him, that is the rooster you need.

One of the problems at a feed store, is anyone can pick up a chick, and not always do they put them back in the right spot.

Contact your county extension agent for a local poultry club, there will be people in that club with pullets for sale. Not huge amounts, but you only need a few.

You are off to a rough start, but are making the right corrections.

Mrs K

 

[Cheep N Peep]

My coop is 4x7. All the floor space is available. I had Cleo with my two girls in there for the morning while I was gone. I do intend to get more hens. Would it be fine if I gave him the space under the poop board (3x4) until he is mature enough, and if so, how do I know he has calmed down? Observation? I built the space under the poop board with chick integration in mind; it has it's own access door on the outside and a window that opens. All I have to do is wire it off.
We went to the county fair on Sunday in hopes of finding some pullets, I have a few phone numbers and am searching Craigslist as well. I am also researching breeders in my area. If it is possible I would like to try and keep this rooster, he and I are pretty friendly with each other and he has had no problems with me or the girls up till now. I will try to get more hens and let my boy grow up a bit. Mrs. K, do not worry. If he does not work out, I WILL get rid of him, but I do not want to possibly cull an animal that I am happy with just because of behavior if there is a chance of correcting that behavior.

Thank you both for replying.

 

[Cheep N Peep]

I guess I should update, in case some day someone needs this info. I hate it when I can't find out what happened! Cleo got locked up under the poop board, and you know, I never knew how sassy he could be! All day for him was the wire- get past that wire- he hated it. When I filled his food bowl, he deliberately kicked it over and pouted. All day was pacing back and forth, hating the wire. While in confinement, he learned to tidbit... and Luna turned her beak up every time! When I got more chicks from Wardle Feed and Pet Supply (best place ever!), they took Cleo and gave me a discount on the little girls. I don't really know where he is- but they say the roosters they take are sent back to their supplier for a chance at getting their own flock. Knowing Cleo, he probably did not get that chance.
Aspen is completely recovered, and now runs the show. (Although, she has a bald patch where Cleo scalped her). She lays an egg almost every day, only skipping one in eight. Now that winter has set in, she skips one out of four. I do not think Cleo would have ever calmed down. He was calm and wary with me, but violent and aggressive with his girls. The only thing I miss about him is his crowing- it thrilled me to hear it. Even my neighbor loved it, and with no rules against roos, maybe I'll get another rooster someday.

 

[Mrs. K]

You have had a rough start, but I think you made good decisions.

Roosters are a crap shoot, some work, and some don't. When they don't you need to cull them one way or another. Some people have enough space to tolerate a rotten rooster, but the longer I am in this hobby, the more particular I am as to what I keep. I look at the flock, the flock needs to be happy and peaceful, if they are not, whatever is causing the problem goes.

Mrs K