hens life without a rooster?

[jgervais]

We have an EE rooster that keeps the ladies in line. He puts them in at night, leads them around the yard. They've been with this same rooster their whole 16 months of life. He is really rough on them lately though, and we are planning on sending him to 'freezer camp' soon.

Will the hens be ok without the rooster? They still know where to go and when to go in without him don't they? Do you think they will appreciate a break from his harassment?

 

[pjknust]

My hens have never had a rooster and they do just great. I lucked out and mine were 100% pullets. Im hoping for the same with my new 8 wk old chicks. I do not like roosters. All my life the male birds we had were MEAN!

pam in TX

 

[Kaela23]

I just sent a beautiful (yet abusive) White Sussex Rooster to go live on a big farm. I sent two hens with him and I am now feeling badly for thoese two. The rest of my flock totals 23 hens and they seem to be doing just fine. I have one older gentle Rooster with only one spur left. He does not do the job of the mean Rooster but every thing seems fine and "zen" like with my chickens now.
I think your hens will do fine. My hens really started laying more eggs about one week after the mean Rooster left.

 

[jgervais]

I bought 13 'pullets' at once from the feed store. Great hens. Gave 6 to my mom to raise and kept 7. One of the my EE's turned out to be a rooster.

Hers cluck and coo and have a real nice slow paced life.
Mine rarely cluck, its only the rooster that you hear hollering his fool head off, and he seems to constantly be pushing and chasing them around. I would be stressed if I were them...

Also, hers look about ready to lay - very heavy looking with red faces and combs.
Mine are just starting to turn from pink, they all seem behind hers even though they are from the same batch.
Maybe life without a rooster for a while will be better....

We have a brand new batch of Dorkings I plan to keep the nicest roo from - but they're just 5 days old right now.

 

[sourland]

They will probably breathe a sigh of relief.

 

[teach1rusl]

My rooster is a pretty good little fella, but my hens did fine before he came along, and they would be fine if he went elsewhere. They know enough to head in each evening and to keep an eye on the sky. You may find your lead hen taking better charge...

 

[Ridgerunner]

They will do fine without him. They will still put themselves to bed at the right time.

You might see one hen take over some of the duties of the rooster. She might even start mounting them to assert her dominance, but I'm really talking about watching out for predators and things like that. You might see them resorting out the pecking order. They'll often do that if the flock loses a hen or a rooster.

Don't get upset if they are a little unsettled for a few days, They will soon sort that out. It's just pecking order stuff. In the long term, they should be fine.

 

[Nicole01]

Mine do great without a rooster. I have 3 in the flock that call for food. I have 2 that watch the sky and 1 that puts them to bed. They share the responsibilities. I'd love to have a rooster, but hubby says no way. Which is smart because I would be constantly hatching eggs!

 

[hannakat]

My aggressive roo went to another home a while back and the girls have done okay. It hasn't quite been the same though and there are moments I regret it .... but not enough to get another roo.

Didn't realize how loud and crazy he was until he was gone.

 

[gritsar]

I have an interesting situation going on with my birds right now. My older hens, 3+ years old, are without a rooster for the first time in their lives. The rooster they grew up with, a gentleman in all ways, had to be put down for health reasons.

Ten out of my 11 older hens are fine without one. My two top hens in that flock have taken over the role of protector. One of the hens, Lilith, is miserable without a rooster. I have a young cockerel with the other flock and another cockerel penned up by himself. When Lilith isn't following the youngest roo around, she's sitting by the pen of the other.

Most hens can do fine without one, but every once in awhile you get a strange bird.