We have 8 birds that were all raised together from chicks, everyone is currently 21 weeks old. We have one cockerel (was supposed to be a hen) and four of the three girls are now laying. Our boy has always been well mannered towards us, found treats for his girls, and was a good protector.
Up until two weeks ago, everyone had been getting along well, and most of the girls were squatting for him. One of the girls however has always been more jumpy, and we found her with a wound on her neck and feathers missing. I did not see what happened, but I’m assuming our boy got ahold of her and she tried to fight it. She was the only one he’s never successfully mated with, and she is one of the ones that is not laying yet.
She has since healed, being kept in a dog crate in the coop so she could still be with the others. We tried reintroducing her this morning with limited success. We placed her on the roost with the rest of the group last night after dark and got up early to keep an eye on how they got along in the morning. Most of the girls took to her with some squabbles amongst some, which I expected. However, our boy immediately singled her out and kept chasing her in a manner more aggressive than his normal mating attempts he uses with the rest.
He has been separated in a small chicken tractor since this morning. I have tried finding a new home for him previously, but never had any luck.
Any advice on this situation? If possible, I’d really prefer to keep him around, but I can’t be having him single anyone out and be causing stress for everyone involved.
Can we keep him separated until everyone is laying and is a bit more mature? Maybe even longer (until 6 months maybe) if needed?
If we keep him separate, should he be able to still see the girls, or is it best to keep them out of eyesight and let him live more as a bachelor?
Our coop is a 8x6 ft shed and they have an attached 25x20 ft covered run. Unfortunately we cannot safely free range in our area due to pretty heavy predator pressure.
Up until two weeks ago, everyone had been getting along well, and most of the girls were squatting for him. One of the girls however has always been more jumpy, and we found her with a wound on her neck and feathers missing. I did not see what happened, but I’m assuming our boy got ahold of her and she tried to fight it. She was the only one he’s never successfully mated with, and she is one of the ones that is not laying yet.
She has since healed, being kept in a dog crate in the coop so she could still be with the others. We tried reintroducing her this morning with limited success. We placed her on the roost with the rest of the group last night after dark and got up early to keep an eye on how they got along in the morning. Most of the girls took to her with some squabbles amongst some, which I expected. However, our boy immediately singled her out and kept chasing her in a manner more aggressive than his normal mating attempts he uses with the rest.
He has been separated in a small chicken tractor since this morning. I have tried finding a new home for him previously, but never had any luck.
Any advice on this situation? If possible, I’d really prefer to keep him around, but I can’t be having him single anyone out and be causing stress for everyone involved.
Can we keep him separated until everyone is laying and is a bit more mature? Maybe even longer (until 6 months maybe) if needed?
If we keep him separate, should he be able to still see the girls, or is it best to keep them out of eyesight and let him live more as a bachelor?
Our coop is a 8x6 ft shed and they have an attached 25x20 ft covered run. Unfortunately we cannot safely free range in our area due to pretty heavy predator pressure.
