living without my roo

[luvmychks51]

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.

 

[Mahonri]

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.

 

[Ridgerunner]

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.

Pat’s Winter Coop Temperatures
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-winter-coop-temperatures

 

[luvmychks51]

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.