not 24 hours after I lost my only roo, Rocket II, the hens are re-establishing the pecking order. RC, who i thought was the girls' boss, refused to roost in the coop tonight. I had to chase her around after dark. when i put her in, speckles immediately pecked at her and chased her around the coop. When I took speckles out, LC paced the ground frantically looking for her flock-mate - so i put speckles back and watched them till they decided to ignore each other. the little bantam(LC) that was rocket's woman was out in the barn roosting in the hay. when i put her in the coop under the heat lamp, she got the same treatment from speckles. she finally settled into the bunny hutch in there that doubles as a laying box. if it wasn't so cold and i didn't think she needed the heat lamp i would have let her stay in the barn. I'm not sure if i'm going to eventually have to get another rooster - just to keep the peace. LC seems to really miss rocket. she moped around all day looking lost.
any time a chicken leaves, it changes the entire flock dynamic and everyone notices. If you can have roos, get another one and be certain that he is spectacular.
Sorry for your loss. Sometimes a hen will take over the peacekeeping duties of a rooster, but sometimes not. If you are providing heat in Florida, I suggest you read this. I think it is probably unnecessary if you have adequate ventilation. They seem to like the coler temperaturesa lot more than the heat. You might too if you were wearing a down coat all the time. PatÂ’s Winter Coop Temperatures https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-winter-coop-temperatures
i'm not a fan of most roos. rocket was special. but if i have to get another i will. i'll see how it all works out over the next few days. As for the heat, I only use the heat lamps when we get a hard freeze. The coop is well ventilated, but if it gets below 30 i use the lamps. 2 two nights ago is was 17 degrees. I brought them all in the house.
