Having issues with the thought of culling roo

[nellynel]

We have a rooster that's 18 months old and slightly aggressive and unsafe for children to be around. We also have a hen around same age that hasn't laid a egg in a month. I want to cull them but I am having a hard time with it. First time having chickens and I am not sure how to handle this situation.

Any suggestions would help.

Do I just go to the bar while my husband deals with this? :/

 

[lightchick]

There's a way to train a rooster not to be mean.
let me find the info....

 

[welasharon]

The hen is probably not laying due to molting. It's that time of the year. THey have to take a break to regrow the feathers. I had a horrid rooster and had to kill him and tried to do it humanely....I wound up torturing the poor thing. Just cut the head off. It's less traumatic. If you want to try what I now do with my roosters you grab him up if he acts aggressive and tuck him under your arm at your hip. Hold him like a football with his wings under control. With the other hand gently push his head down toward the ground. Hold it there for some seconds. Let go. If he picks his head up repeat until he keeps his head down. THen after waiting a bit with him holding his head down you can then put him down. Repeat at any signs of aggression. I have only had to repeat this twice with two of mine. It doesn't hurt to try.

 

[JaceAgain]

You might see if someone wants him on craigslist or your city facebook yard sale page. We don't own chickens to breed or eat at this point in time so I let someone else deal with my problem roo. Maybe thats not the way a lot would do it here, but frankly I wanted low key pets with egg benefits, not to be a hardcore farmer or whatever.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

At 18 months, it is likely the lack of laying in your hen is due to molt - that is pretty much expected at about that age. I would certainly not cull her at this point, because she will come back into lay and you can still get plenty of productive time out of this bird.

 

[donrae]

Agree on the hen molting. It's your decision to keep her as a non-producing bird and have her start laying again in a few months, or go ahead and cull her. A mean rooster, though, needs to go. There are lots and lots of threads on the meat bird section about different methods of culling. I see no problem with letting your honey do it, if he's willing, while you're elsewhere. It takes time to build up to these things if you're not raised with them. I'd also advise to put the bird in the freezer for a few months, to get over the image of eating a specific bird. Once you pull him out in November to eat, it will be just another piece of meat.

 

[Mallory8502]

Once it is over with I don't think you will continue to feel bad about it. If this is a matter of keeping the children in your life safe, or the rest of the flock safe, you will look back and know you did the right thing. At least if he goes by your hand you know for a fact it was humane.

EDIT: but give that hen another chance, she is probably molting!

 

[bobbi-j]

I agree with the others that your hen is probably slowing down due to molt. The rooster, though, I would get rid of. Even if you are able to get him to respect you by trying various taming methods, there is no guarantee that he won't go after your kids. And they are FAST when they want to be! I just visited with a lady this weekend who had to kill her roosters because they went after her and left her bruised from her hip to her knee. Fortunately she was apparently wearing long pants when she got her. They had pretty good sized spurs!

We had a steer once - his name was Butch (My boys named him. They were around 10, 8 and 5 a the time. The reason for the name? "We're gonna butcher him anyway, Mom."} That animal thought he was a horse, thought he was a deer, thought he was a dog. We got him as a week-old bottle calf, and he was pretty much raised with my horses. He would break through any fence he was in, no matter what kind - electric, barbed-wire, boards, we tried them all - when we took the horses out. If he got out soon enough to see where we went, he'd follow us down the road, bellering his head off. The first winter we had him was record-breaking snow. We had a herd of deer that would come try to find grain around our bins. One day we looked out the window to see Butch following the deer as they headed across the field after feeding. One afternoon my mom stopped by while we were out riding. Butch had gotten out and was laying next to the back doorstep with the dog. When we finally took him in to be processed, my aunt asked me, "How can you eat Butch?" I told her, "When I think of every fence I had to put back up, he tastes better and better!" All that to say, if you're struggling with killing your rooster ("culling" means to simply remove from the flock), think of the attacks he's already made, and then imagine them getting worse. Imagine one of your kids scarred for life - physically and possible mentally - by those spurs coming into contact with their face.

 

[nellynel]

The Hen has always had laying issues.... also she is only 14 months old. The rooster has to go. I dont want to give him away so someone else can eat him or enter him in a cock fight. Craiglist is not a good option! We need to cull him.... we have two baby roosters that are going to take his place.

 

[nellynel]

We have tired everything! Not working. He was given to us at 2 weeks of age and never was picked up by a human. He has always been scared of us even though we tried holding him.