Hector's World: Adventures and Mayhem at Mountain View Poultry (or Sequel to The Evolution of Atlas

[1muttsfan]

Bet there's lots of flappety going on in there!

 

[robhuncor]

Roosters galore! Got a count yet?

 

[speckledhen]

Roosters galore! Got a count yet?

Four boys, two girls.


Hector's fate lies in the balance this morning. When I let him, Jill and Thea out, Jill ran and jumped on top of the dog cage, which made me go get her and look her over. It was obvious she was avoiding Hector. The reason was he has ripped open her side. He is an almost violent breeder, runs and jumps her at the end of the barn aisle as soon as they get out of their pen. And I mean hard and fast and sometimes ends up overshooting her. I've pushed him off more than once or blocked him from doing it. Thea won't allow him to breed her and he doesn't insist for some reason, so in effect, he has one girl, not a good situation for a very vigorous, heavy young rooster. The two pullets will be a long time in growing up large enough to be with any rooster and there is no guarantee he'll be nice to them or even accept them, as his pattern has been to flog away any new girls.

So, what the heck do I do????? Jill is in the hospital cage, wound sprayed with Vetericyn, but even with a saddle, she can't be jumped like that right now.

 

[getaclue]

Pen Hector up a few days, then reintroduce him, and see what happens. He may be very frustrated, since the hens clearly want nothing to do with him. Yes, roosters get forceful when that happens. In the meantime, file his toenails blunt. I'm not talking about his spurs. Blunting the toenails helps quite a bit in that situation. It helps prevent the hen's skin from tearing. Apply neosporin type antibiotic to Jill, and cover with vet wrap. She will heal fine. Not having enough hens it a problem at times with a lot of chicken keepers. It's rough when there aren't enough, but pen him up for awhile if you want to keep him. If you don't want to keep him, sell him. He's a great specimen.

 

[1muttsfan]

I agree.

 

[speckledhen]

Pen Hector up a few days, then reintroduce him, and see what happens. He may be very frustrated, since the hens clearly want nothing to do with him. Yes, roosters get forceful when that happens. In the meantime, file his toenails blunt. I'm not talking about his spurs. Blunting the toenails helps quite a bit in that situation. It helps prevent the hen's skin from tearing. Apply neosporin type antibiotic to Jill, and cover with vet wrap. She will heal fine. Not having enough hens it a problem at times with a lot of chicken keepers. It's rough when there aren't enough, but pen him up for awhile if you want to keep him. If you don't want to keep him, sell him. He's a great specimen.

I'd have to wrap him up with vet wrap to be able to trim his nails. He goes absolutely crazy when you try to hold him. He's fine with petting, but a bear to actually hold to do stuff with. He was this mating-nuts even when he was breeding both Thea and had Rowena in with him. Then, he quit messing with Ro, as if he knew she was ill, and he doesn't insist on Thea now (she's clucking a lot, but not sitting). So, poor Jill has born the brunt of his attentions.

I have nowhere to pen him up separately because of all the broodies. I'd have to throw the girls in with one of the other groups and let him stay in his pen.

He needs some oil or bag balm on his comb, but you can see how calm he is with petting now. He's a good boy, but just a terribly aggressive breeder. It's not that he does it a lot, but when he does, he's pretty brutal about it.

 

[1muttsfan]

He would likely be a different boy if he was with a big group of hens

 

[speckledhen]

He would likely be a different boy if he was with a big group of hens

...which I would love to give him, if he'd accept them, but it's just not feasible for us. I can't buy them, as you know, and it takes so long for chicks to grow up. He really does need a group of 8-12 hens of his own to be fair to him.

If I sold Hector, then I have another decision to make. That would be a crossroads for us. I cannot breed from Atlas, obviously, nor his daughters. Wynette and Dru are 7 years old and rarely lay. I doubt Atlas will live to a ripe old age. He's already 4 years old, though he still is quite the Casanova. The choice is either let the BRs go for the foreseeable future and hope that one day, I can get more of the Stukels if I decide to get more, or keep one of Hector's sons and hope he's less of a crazed goober than daddy so he can be a replacement for Atlas. It would simplify our lives some if I only had to deal with Bash and, as long as he's here, Atlas. The D'Anvers are not anything that mucks up the works, really. They don't breed the big hens, who are scared to death of them and avoid Spike's little snarky self when they're out together. It would be Bash and old Atlas left as males here if I sold Hector and did not keep one of his four sons I have growing out.

I mentioned that decision to my husband, about letting the Rocks go, and he said, "Not have the BRs?". He was sitting in the pen with the four week old chicks and was covered with BR chicks, some going to sleep on him. We've had BRs since the beginning. It's really my favorite barnyard chicken. They are sweet and friendly and don't go perpetually broody. They're good layers, of course. We both like the Brahmas a lot, Bash in particular, but a Rock is a true old American breed, salt of the earth breed.

 

[speckledhen]

I am trying something for Hector. I put Zara and Athena back in with him though I cannot breed from them so he has three hens if he behaves. He had them early on and both will squat for him. In fact, he was actually calmer after he realized they were not going to give him much attitude and mated Zara more than once, though I didn't see if he got Athena, too. If they can be "place holders" until the Jill daughters grow up, he'll at least have four girls when Jill is healed enough to put a saddle on her and put her back in with them, then six girls if I decide to allow them to stay with him after he gets the new young ladies.

And, yes, I did trim toenails and also, blunted his ice-pick spurs. I cut one too short and it was bleeding, but DE slowed it way down. That works better than anything I've ever used. It is a desiccant, after all. It took all of DH's strength to hold him still, that goofball rooster.

 

[1muttsfan]

If you let Hector go you would still have BR's, at least for several years, as you would have the girls. And if later something happened to Atlas, you could pick up some hatching eggs and get another rooster. It would be great if he would just behave himself now, of course.