I've Had It!! Killing Roosters When I Get Home

[angelbabyamy]

I am so fed up with my roosters, I'm butchering three of them when I get home. I have 38 hens (plus 24 five day old chicks and 12 meaties), ages range from 8 weeks to 3 years.

I had kept a Marans rooster and a BLRW roo as my main roosters. I hatched some EE eggs in December and decided to keep a rooster out of those. Well, I bought some chicks from a lady in March that were supposed to be sexed. HA HA. Out of 4 Marans, 3 were roosters, 2 of 3 Speckled Sussex were roosters and I can't tell how many of the Lavender Orpingtons are, they are much harder to sex but I suspect I have three. None of the Orpingtons are crowing or getting aggressive yet.

I found homes for a few, but recently butchered some meat chickens, didn't have a problem with it, so I decided to keep the other roos until they were big enough to eat. My chicken tractor and small chicken house currently has meaties and 2 broodies with chicks, so I don't have any extra pens at the moment to put the **** roosters in, they are free ranging with my chickens.

My egg production has went WAAAAY down. For the past week, I have been getting 4-5 eggs a day!! About 2 months ago I was getting 16-24 a day. I do have 8 broody chickens right now. Nobody looks like they are moulting, they had a long one last September. This morning after I let them out I still had 2 chickens sitting on the perch. I think they are afraid to go out! I witnessed a young Maran trying to get on my 8 week EE chick! I caught him and put him in a cage. He is probably 16 weeks. He's a goner when I get home. I couldn't catch the SS roo, he is the same age. The roosters are just grabbing the hens and terrorizing them. Very few are submitting, they are grabbing them and pulling out feathers.

I decided to let my BLRW out that has been raising my meaties, they are just over 4 weeks and I wanted them to get out and free range now that they are bigger. As my broody hen was walking down the ramp, my older BCM, BLRW and EE roos were just watching her, waiting. As soon as she hit the ground, they all took off after her and were chasing her. I was so ******!! Roosters aren't supposed to gang bang broody hens with chicks! I caught her and put her back in the chicken house until I can lock up all the roosters. She isn't going to be able to protect the chicks with those **** roosters running around.

My BCM and BLRW roosters are just over a year. The Marans will flog me at times even though I have tried the " I am the dominant rooster thing" and have caught him, held him, hit him with a broom, etc. He's a goner now. He doesn't try to court the chickens, doesn't defend them against the others,just tries to grab them after the other roos get them, and eats food without offering it to the hens, My BLRW is nice, but he treats the hens the same way.

I have just had it and my hens don't deserve this crap.

 

[Habibs Hens]

i could feel the anger in that post

 

[Pele]

Me too.

Good for you for putting your hens first. They work hard for you. Although you might want to consider creating a bachelor pad if you have the space, and letting the roos work through their horomones. Who knows, maybe after hurricane Testosterone blows over, there might be a decent roo among them.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Being eaten is what cull roosters are for.

Go for it.

 

[angelbabyamy]

Me too.

Good for you for putting your hens first. They work hard for you. Although you might want to consider creating a bachelor pad if you have the space, and letting the roos work through their horomones. Who knows, maybe after hurricane Testosterone blows over, there might be a decent roo among them.

I would love to keep them longer, but currently don't have any pens for them. My husband is getting tired of me asking him to build me stuff. He just made me the 8 x16 chicken house in February and some raised beds for the garden last week. I will probably be getting some baby calves in a week to raise for meat and need to fix up their shelter. I would love to have another chicken tractor to put them in. Guess I need to learn to build, lol! There is a lot of property here.

My Marans and BLRW roos were hatched last February. They should be a little more considerate. The roosters we had when I was a kid didn't attack the broody chickens. They try to mate with my broody hens when they come off the nest. I keep wondering if that's another reason I have so many broody hens- they want to get away from the roosters.

 

[ELauraD]

Wow, I had no idea this type of behavior occurred within the chicken community. Forewarned is forearmed I guess. Yuk, hope I don't have any of these mean roo's. Mine are all under a month so time will tell.

I can't wait to get them into the coop and run we just finished constructing. It is pretty chilly still here in the PNW. We used livestock fencing in the making of the run, I'm hoping the chickens don't stick their heads out the openings...

 

[n8ivetxn]

I'm with you, let's stock those freezers! I need to learn to process birds

I have an Ameracauna and a Marans roo. They do my hens the same way, or just double up on them....makes me mad when I see it... They do feed the hens and make little nesting areas for them, but still..... And, the Ameracauna has tried flogging me a few times recently. The Marans wouldn't dare.

If I referee the boys, I can scold them and say "no" when they go running after a hen - they stop! I've swatted the Ameracauna with a switch a couple times, he knows better. The Marans, I broke a stick over his back one day, chasing him across the pasture as he was chasing a hen... They understand what "no" means....But, I can't stand out there and watch all the time, so they stay penned up most of the time, now. Unless I start feeling bad for them and let them out.

 

[nickie]

I just had to process 3 boys a few weeks early since the old hags would no longer come out of the coop if they were out (or go back in if they were in). I still have a few extra but those are the boys I'm keeping until I have a good second or head rooster (my current roo is a teetering on the brink of dinner as well). Whoever said hurricane testosterone hit the nail right on the head.

 

[angelbabyamy]

But, I can't stand out there and watch all the time, so they stay penned up most of the time, now. Unless I start feeling bad for them and let them out.

I've always loved animals, never thought I would be able to kill anything, but those roosters make me so mad and my poor hens don't deserve it. I have no love for roosters. Can't believe how hard I've become, lol! They were lucky I had to go to work or every single one of them would be in my refrigerator right now. Still going to kill the Marans when I get home and possible the BLRW. He is a nice boy though, just doesn't treat the hens with as much respect as I would like. My Marans is a pretty boy from Bev Davis lines, that's why I kept him, but my daughter freaks out if he gets near her when she visits because he tried to flog her about a month ago and my neighbor carries a stick with her if she comes over. Can you get sued if your rooster hurts someone? lol!

 

[A.T. Hagan]

This is all just a natural evolution in being poultry keepers.

Excess roosters beyond your needs and the good of the hens SHOULD be culled. Keeping in mind that "culled" simply means removed from the flock. Rehome them if you can, sell them to someone who wants to eat them (where most of mine go), or eat them yourself. All are equally valid.