HENS GETTING NEW LEASE ON LIFE

[omelette'smom]

My 4 extra roos are being culled in 3 weeks unless there are any takers in new hampshire! My ladies are just not liking the abuse and I can only wack those naughty boys so many times a day. My poor little bantum usually stays in the run happy as a clam but i saw her out in the biting wind last week with a big chunk of feathers ripped out of her backside and bleeding-then witnessed a roo being a big potty head later that day! I saw about 20 large white feathers on my deck yesturday and it was because my Frita took a beating from a nasty wasty boy and now she is so bare it makes me sad. My DH saw this as it was happening and he chased him off. I have the boys quarantined and the kids know why but don't know about the culling. We go on vaca and my FIL & BI are going to do the "flock reduction" for us. I feel guilty but know it's for the best. I got rid of them twice but wound up with them again. I feel stupid......they're just chickens right???

 

[Bawkadoodledoo]

time to get out the stock pot and the spices...

 

[basicliving]

I'm sorry, omelette'smom

I know I would feel the same way. I tell myself I could cull my chickens if I had to, but I know for certain it would be difficult for me. Doing the act myself or not.

Just think how much happier your hens will be - and how less stressed you will be! You'll go on vacation and when you get back, they'll be gone. I think you're going to be much happier when you get back.

Penny

 

[12 Acres]

It's a tough decision but I know from experience that you'll be glad you did it. Your girls will be glad too.

 

[FrontPorchIndiana]

Ugh, it's tough. Especially if you have kids. But it's just a fact of nature that you just can't keep too many Roos. No matter how badly you want them. I sent mine to freezer camp and we're all so much happier now.

 

[digitS']

A long time ago when I lived waaay out in the country, a neighbor gave me 9 cockerels. They were a 3-way or 4-way cross with bantam this-or-that, dual-purpose, and some Leghorn thrown in. The neighbor didn't want 'em and said I could "fatten them up."

Well, there was no fattening them up but they were just gorgeous birds! Every single one of them was different color, feather pattern, and comb. They were real young and I set about taking good care of them.

Then one day, it was like a switch had been thrown! They were Roosters, with a capital rue! And, I had more of them than I had hens!

One Sunday morning I woke up to absolute CHAOS outdoors! I took my 22 and loaded it up with "shorts," went out and shot every one of those d**n things. No waiting for dark and pulling 'em off a roost and stuffing in a feed sack . . . no, no! They had to go NOW!

And, peace settled over the old homestead . . . Of course, the animals all looked at me like I couldn't really be trusted for the rest of the day. When they woke up Monday morning, all the mayhem, madness, and murder had been forgotten.

Steve's digits
edited to say: I've waited a long time to confess that

.

 

[Sparks]

Just had 4 hens processed. I think I was taken when I bought them. I really didn`t have a clue. There feet were not so great when I bought them. I vaselined them several times. They just kept getting worse. I think they were old. In fact I am getting the same amt. of eggs per day. I really thought I would be putting them in my pet cemetary. Hard to do but realized they had to be culled.

 

[estpr13]

digitS' :

Then one day, it was like a switch had been thrown! They were Roosters, with a capital rue! ...They had to go NOW!...

Yep... When they turn mean, they turn into crockpot stew. Got one on now. I can relate.​

 

[omelette'smom]

Steve, i really wish i could be bold enough to take care of this "overrage" myself. I AM A WIMP!

I would have less of a problem shooting a person than shooting these roos! i have a military backround but this chicken farming thing is new to me! i'm such a bleeding hearted animal lover! the thought of eating THESE particular roos makes me ill!

I would rather give them to someone and let them do the dirty deed!

 

[digitS']

Well Omelette'sMom, I didn't handle it very well. It was like a switch had been flipped with me, too. One big problem with the 9 little roos had to do with protecting my big rooster - who wasn't all that big, anyway. I saw him fly across the yard at one of the juvenile delinquents and crash into a tree! I figured he had about another day and he'd be basket-case. The hens were on their way to an emergency room, also. Eggs? Forget about it!

I once had a rooster that I really didn't like. I mean, he was an ugly mutt . . . and he was violent with the hens. I handled that better, took him off the roost at night and gave him away. I've got critters I like and who like me to take care of . . . Bye . . .

Steve