INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Leahs Mom]

The boy has not been aggressive toward ME. I can catch him and pick him up (of course he doesn't like it but no biting).

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

The boy has not been aggressive toward ME. I can catch him and pick him up (of course he doesn't like it but no biting).

He has a lot of growing to do, so he may change a lot. He may not and thats the issue. If you have doubts tho, 2 weeks away from the main flock will give the other young birds growth time and may adjust his attitude. It will also give you more time to decide.

 

[Leahs Mom]

If I housed him farther away, I'd probably take both sfh boys over there together. But...

Then I'd probably have more trouble bringing them back into the flock later??

That was one of the main reasons that I thought about just housing them penned there where the main flock could interact through the pen, etc. Rotating one in at a time to observe.

I'm putting the Buckeyes out in the afternoons when I'm home from work. I have kept the mean roo penned while they are out and closely watching the other...most often penning him as well. I was thinking that a couple weeks from now the Buckeyes will have matured considerably and the dynamics may change some.

Of course, the Buckeyes are going to be teenage boys soon too!

 

[Leahs Mom]

Off to bed for the night.

 

[Greenthumb83]

If I housed him farther away, I'd probably take both sfh boys over there together. But...

Then I'd probably have more trouble bringing them back into the flock later??

I had to remove a couple cockerels and they went back in to the flock just fine. They were only out for a few days, so I can't say how 2 weeks would go. When I put them back in the run, they got chased around for a few minutes, no actual pecking or fighting. Then they went on as usual. They remembered each other. The peck order between the 3 of the 4 boys did change a bit. Top cock hasn't changed.

We have the two we are keeping in with the girls now. They are starting to challenge each other more, now that they are both reaching maturity. The other two went to the freezer...well one. The other went to the crock pot. He was cooked up with red wine and lot of fresh veggies from the garden. Hard to believe some don't like the taste. I will never want to eat grocery store chicken again!

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote:
wow I'm amazed at how many posts I have skipped or skimmed. But yes I gave her many of my roosters. The youngest he could have been if he was mine was 7/2/2015. That was the last batch of chicks I hatched.

Speaking of roosters, if anyone wants to donate a rooster or two I could use them to help fill my front goat yard. I won't be getting back into breeding for a while but I could use a new alarm clock.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

@Leahs Mom I do want a rooster or two. They would just be hanging out with my goats. I like the sound of the roosters and I have an area I'm trying to fill in with wood chips. I'm sure the roosters would have fun scratching the newest pile of chips in the goat yard.

If I had the money I'd go out and get me a set of Sumatra chickens but for now I think I'll wait a bit on that.

 

[Indyshent]

@jchny2000
The Wyandotte roo you described that you currently have - did he come as a chick or as an adult?

He was a young adult bird. Just had a natural social behavior from the day I got him. Am pretty sure he was from @SallyinIndiana and may have been earlier last year than I realized, thinking back. He is a blue laced red.

He was originally from @SallyinIndiana . Lovely lacing, crummy comb, snazzy eyebrows, used to tread his girls really hard but has apparently aged out of it (having no other roosters in his pen has probably helped at least as much as aging). When I first brought him home, he had a mild respiratory illness and nipped when I would try to handle him. I flipped him over and used the Football & Humiliate maneuver followed by the White Bread for Good Behavior incentive program, and it worked after three tries (making him the most stubborn roo I've ever dealt with). I had been worried that he might take charge after our alpha roo died, and in a multi-roo mixed flock, it likely would have been terrible even so because the competition highlighted his flaws.He was a big, fluffy ball of charming with "his" girls though, which always gave me a lot of hope for him. He's better as the only rooster in a flock, and many roosters are like that.

How does the cockerel act towards you? Agreed with the hen, thats just not a good situation. I have learned if something tells me there's an issue with a bird, good chance my gut feeling is right.

The boy has not been aggressive toward ME. I can catch him and pick him up (of course he doesn't like it but no biting).

If that girl's that mean, I wouldn't suggest keeping either of them (and I'd complain to the breeder and anyone else willing to listen). He may age out of being so aggressive with foreign cockerels; he may not (and would be best in a single-rooster set up regardless). I've seen lots of perfectly good guys start out doing all kinds of playful moshing and kung-fu moves in the yard, but I've never seen boys that age do so much as pull feathers out or even nip each other. It's mostly chest-bumping and sissy kickboxing.

If I housed him farther away, I'd probably take both sfh boys over there together. But...

Then I'd probably have more trouble bringing them back into the flock later??

That was one of the main reasons that I thought about just housing them penned there where the main flock could interact through the pen, etc. Rotating one in at a time to observe.

I'm putting the Buckeyes out in the afternoons when I'm home from work. I have kept the mean roo penned while they are out and closely watching the other...most often penning him as well. I was thinking that a couple weeks from now the Buckeyes will have matured considerably and the dynamics may change some.

Of course, the Buckeyes are going to be teenage boys soon too!

Go ahead and take them out. I don't think you'll get much problems putting them back in. Birds can recognize each other even when you can't tell them apart. I don't advise removing one guy at a time, though because they're social animals.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@Indyshent and @jchny2000

I was going to put both boys in the outdoor pen when I left for work this morning as I didn't want them chasing the girls around in the heat. When I put them in there, the chick-attacker began attacking his brother! Pulling out large tufts of feathers. First time I've seen that. They do, of course, chase a bit but not an outright attack. I had them together in that pen last evening and there was none of that...the other boy just keeps a respectable distance. The pen is 12x6 so there's really not much of a place for the other brother to get away.

So I hauled the attacker back into the back indoor pen and left the other guy outside in the outdoor pen.

THESE ARE 2 BOYS THAT HAVE BEEN RAISED TOGETHER.


So...what's the vote...get rid of the "attacker"?


(And who knows what will happen when the little Buckeyes become men. I was going to try to keep 1 of each breed...2 cockerels altogether....)

 

[Faraday40]

Go ahead and take them out. I don't think you'll get much problems putting them back in. Birds can recognize each other even when you can't tell them apart. I don't advise removing one guy at a time, though because they're social animals.

This is true. I rehomed an EE in early June. A predator took the other chicken in that coop. With only one hen left, he owner asked if I could sell her 1-2 more. I ended up selling her 2 hens last week. Although they were apart for more than a month, when we introduced them, no problems. The 3 happened to hatch together in 2015 & were BFFs when in my coop. It looked like they remembered each other. Even at night when they had to roost in their new coop, they stayed with each other. The 1st hen lead the way and the others followed her into the coop.