Hi, Meg here from Earleville, MD

[meggie58]

Hi All,

Well, someone asked if they could bring chickens to my farm if they fixed up a little house/barn I had on my property. I said, "yes" and one day, they brought 2 red chickens and a beautiful white w/black and stand up feathers rooster. He asked me if I had some straw for bedding and food for them. Umm, no, I didn't know they were going to be MY chickens. Long story short, they are my chickens now since I haven't seen this person since. One poor hen was someone's dinner one evening; I'm suspecting a fox. So, only have the two. I am looking to buy some more hens in my vicinity and haven't found anyone that has some. Is there a classified section on there per state by chance? Also, the rooster has attacked me and my tenant 3 times each. He has punctured my leg pretty badly and my tenants also. Today, I went to freshen their water and he came at me again. This time, I had on my tall rubber rain boots and grabbed a rake by the coop. He is so mean I think he's going to be a nice dinner for my tenant this weekend. Another question. . . if we remove the rooster (permanently), will the hen get depressed and stop laying eggs or worse, die of heartache? I was hoping to get another hen friend for her before we "remove" the rooster. I would love your feedback! Thank you, ~Meg~

 

[meggie58]

One more thing about my rooster. . . he does not have a comb or wattles. What does that mean?

 

[Michael OShay]

Welcome to BYC, Meg! Sorry about the loss of your hen to a fox. There is a good section in the Learning Center on Predators and Pests at https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center/tag/predators-and-pests/ You can get in touch with fellow BYC members from Maryland in the Maryland threads at https://www.backyardchickens.com/newsearch?search=maryland+thread, and inquire about buying more hens in your vicinity. I'm sorry to hear that you have an aggressive rooster. Unfortunately aggressive rooster have to be culled out of the flock (I've had to do it quite a few times over the years). If you remove the rooster, your hen won't die of heartache or stop laying eggs (she might even get some relief), however chickens are gregarious birds so I would get another hen or two as soon as possible. Just remember, even with hens, there is a pecking order which will be established, so I would keep them separated by some kind of fencing initially for a least a couple of weeks until they get used to each other's presence, and then put them together at night after they've gone to roost. You might want to check out the Introducing a New Hen to the Flock threads at https://www.backyardchickens.com/newsearch?search=introducing+a+new+hen+to+the+flock Hope this helps, and good luck with your flock.

 

[drumstick diva]

Michael has given you good advice. AS to the aggressive rooster, I hope you and your tenant are up to date on your tetanus boosters. I'm guessing he spurred you to some dandy puncture wounds and of course his feet have troden over chick poo.

I've heard mean roosters taste the best. One of my firm beliefs is "beware of friends/strangers bearing chickens." They is always a catch, either they turn out to be all cockerells, egg eaters or are aggressive like the rooster.

I'm sorry your kind gesture led to this. BTW Weclome to BYC. If you go to "where am I, where are you," in the social forum, you can locate and post on your state thread. Hopefully you will find some chickeners near you who will have the breeds you want and you will be able to forgo shipping charges.

 

[sumi]

Welcome to BYC

You got some great advice here. Best of luck!

 

[petrel]

Welcome to BYC!

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

Drumstick Diva has given you some great advice. Once a mean rooster, always a mean rooster. So you will need to rehome him. And while hens lay with or without a rooster present, you will need to get her some friends. Chickens are very social animals and need each other for good mental and physical health. Also, 1 rooster to 1 hen is way too much rooster for one hen. He can over mate and hurt or even kill her.

You might stop by your state thread and chat with your chicken neighbors to see if they may have some extra birds for you. Search thru this link to find your state thread...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/26/where-am-i-where-are-you

You can also look at our Buy Sell and Trade section for more birds or even rehome your rooster. You can reply to ads here but to place one, you will need 20 posts before you can do that....

https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/16182/animals-in-need-of-free-re-homing

Good luck and I hope you can get all this worked out soon!

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! You've gotten some good advice above, hope you are able to find more hens.

 

[meggie58]

Thank you so kindly for all the great information!!! I truly appreciate you taking the time to write to me!!!

 

[meggie58]

Michael has given you good advice. AS to the aggressive rooster, I hope you and your tenant are up to date on your tetanus boosters. I'm guessing he spurred you to some dandy puncture wounds and of course his feet have troden over chick poo.

I've heard mean roosters taste the best. One of my firm beliefs is "beware of friends/strangers bearing chickens." They is always a catch, either they turn out to be all cockerells, egg eaters or are aggressive like the rooster.

I'm sorry your kind gesture led to this. BTW Weclome to BYC. If you go to "where am I, where are you," in the social forum, you can locate and post on your state thread. Hopefully you will find some chickeners near you who will have the breeds you want and you will be able to forgo shipping charges.

Thank you for welcoming me to this site! Yes, I got a tetanus shot the day after at my work!!! The puncture wounds are about 3 weeks old now and still not all healed; he's a mean, mean Roo-Roo!!! I just read about "Dubbing" and am wondering if someone did that to him since he doesn't have a comb or wattles. Does anyone know what breed he might be? Thanks, ~Meg~