Help ASAP with my flock there going crazy

[Mattsiewrt94]

Alright I have 6 hens and 2 rooster... I did not plan the other rooster and I have been trying to get rid of him I do not cull my chickens there all pets and I don't want to kill him he's a good rooster with minor things wrong like his tail is cricked and his foot has been swollen for as long as I can remember I checked for bumble foot nothing idk what it could be. But he's had it since he was a chick. And my last resort is to kill it just hit it with a shovel but like I said before he's a good rooster but I just was thinking the tail and his foot wouldn't be hereditary would it like if he mates and there chicks have that problem. I feel like the dude that hatched them must of missed a turning period or something idk but I was thinking if I got more hens will they stop going for my main hen she's so stressed out she won't come out the barn they all free range so they can run where ever but how many hens should I get ? I feel like it will make it worse or something. Idk please anyone help me out idk what to do!!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don’t know if it is hereditary or not, but I would not allow him to breed. The crooked tail probably is hereditary. Don’t take the chance.

Don’t worry much about that hen to rooster ratio. It’s not nearly as important as many people would have you believe. How they behave depends more on their individual personality (hens as well as roosters) and their stage of maturity. Still I advise you to keep as few roosters with your flock as you can and meet your goals, not because you are guaranteed problems with more roosters, but because the more roosters you have the more likely it is you will have problems. If you want to use this as an excuse to justify more hens go for it, but one rooster with six hens should not be any problem at all as long as they are past adolescence. I currently have one rooster and seven hens with no problems but I candled last night. By the middle of next week I will hopefully have 24 more.

If you can’t stand to give the rooster away where he will almost certainly be eaten or eat him yourself, you can just pen him up by himself. He’s not going to be real happy by himself since they are social creatures, but he won’t go suicidal or be all that depressed. That way you can keep him as a pet. Sometimes when you have animals you have to make hard decisions.

I don’t know what you are doing to try to get rid of him. Try advertising on Craigslist but don’t say “to a good home”. Maybe talk to the people at the feed store. They might know someone who will take him or maybe allow you to put a notice up on their bulletin board. Accept that he is going to be eaten. I have no doubt you’ve given him a good life and if he provides someone a good meal that’s a useful end.

Good luck! I know it can be upsetting.

 

[Mattsiewrt94]

Lol no I don't care who takes him they do whatever they want to him I was getting more hens regardless but I put it on craiglist for free multiple times and I tried locking him up them he doesn't stop crowing he will literally crow all night long so I tried pending him up with a hen but then the other rooster wouldn't get away from the pen so idk I'm gonna go by the feed store talk to them and if that don't work I'm just gonna shoot it. Because most of all my hens go broody and I sell the chicks and I can't chance them having defects to where they won't sell

 

[cafarmgirl]

Getting more hens may help. My rooster has a favorite hen that he pesters a lot and she gets fed up with him. His original flock of 7 was getting old and dwindling down so I got him 8 beautiful new young ladies to help occupy his time. He was absolutely thrilled and that took a lot of pressure off that one favorite hen lol! If your up for getting a few more birds give it a try, maybe you can just keep your roo.

Edited to add: Sorry, didn't see your last post. I agree, if you are worried about him reproducing then it's best to get rid of him.