Murderous cockerel

[TheOddOneOut]

Get rid of him. You can only have one roo with 10 hens anyways.

 

[Folly's place]

This time I disagree with @Mrs. K , I think this cockerel needs to be gone! If you plan to keep both cockerels, at least for now, then having them together and away from the pullets will be better for those pullets.
And I do agree that cockerels are best handled by not making them too familiar, and disrespectful of your space.
Your less bold cockerel may turn out great, or not, but he's a better bet right now anyway.
Mary

 

[Cazook]

nasty cockerels make tasty soup.

 

[Mrs. K]

Folly - I must have been trying to be too nice, but I did say that there was a good chance that neither rooster would work out. My own niece is in this same boat, 11 birds, 5 roosters that were so darling until last week.

I kept telling her, you can't keep all of them, probably should not keep any of them...but they were so darling, this is her first flock, they sat in her lap, jumped up to be petted. And it just seemed that THIS time for HER, they would be lifelong beloved pets.

Until last Wednesday, when one grabbed and attacked a pullet.

She is totally surprised, even though I told her... but she will figure it out. Getting them away from the pullets is the most important thing now. As they grow, they will become more and more aggressive towards people, and she will learn to recognize the signs.

Personally I strongly recommend a hen only flock the first year...but people don't like to hear that, and for weeks, their rooster chicks are the darlings, so it is nearly impossible to believe.

OP - really think on getting rid of both roosters. Perhaps add a rooster next year. But I won't be surprised if this poster is not determined for a while yet to keep them both.

Mrs K

 

[aart]

You can only have one roo with 10 hens anyways.

That's no guarantee.

The 'rooster' to hen ratio of 1:10 that is often cited is primarily for fertility efficiency in commercial breeding facilities.

It doesn't mean that if a cockbird has 10 hens that he won't abuse or over mate them.

Many breeders keep pairs, trios, quads, etc ....short term and/or long term.

It all depends on the temperaments of the cock and hens and sometimes housing provided.

Backyard flocks can achieve good fertility with a larger ratio.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Get rid of him. You can only have one roo with 10 hens anyways.

That's not always true. I have 9 hens and almost always 2 male's with them that are keepers, smd more often than not young male's growing out.

I will however say good job separating him. You may want to seperate her as well if you haven't already since the hens will go after blood.

If you're hoping to reintroduce him, take the other male away too. If you're finished with him and he's no longer a contender to stay, then you could leave the other male with the gals as long as he's being respectful

Just my opinion

 

[Folly's place]

I know, @Mrs. K , we all started somewhere, and thought it would all work out.
Having adult hens helps with cockerel integration, and 'next year' is often better, totally true.
It's all about the cockerels being 'friendly' and beautiful, and then bad behavior comes seemingly out of nowhere.
I too hope that things work out for the OP, and especially for those pullets!
Mary

 

[CHlCKEN]

I have a small flock of 12 birds. 10 he s and 2 cockerels. They have all been together since day one. Last night one of the cockerels (4 months old) attacked one of the pullets. He had her penned down and was literally ripping the skin off her head. She was perfectly healthy. I have since separated her and she is recovering. What would have caused this and what should I do with the cockerel? He is not aggressive towards me, he will eat out of my hand and besides crowing incessantly has no bad habits until this happened

Separate him immediately likely he saw some pecking order things between some pulllets and was trying to be dominant and was over aggressive. Please separate this cockerel immediately before he injures/kills another chicken! Also pull the second cockerel for same reasons then depending on how he acts add him or the other cockerel back in when the hens are POL. For now keep those two separate or risk more issues, without hens to mate with they will be very aggressive towards each other. I think I also agree with Mrs K and I believe you should not hand feed them or risk being injured yourself/him flogging you. I also want to include the fact that roosters are not all aggressive and it is a vast misconception that they are all deadly ferocious monsters that want to kill! No they can be ever so sweet and I fact I have met a sweet little rooster named Becky with one eye (previously thought to be a hen) that was so friendly and loved to be held, so please don’t assume any rooster you get in the future will want to kill or injure your girls or hurt you!

 

[TheOddOneOut]

That's no guarantee.

The 'rooster' to hen ratio of 1:10 that is often cited is primarily for fertility efficiency in commercial breeding facilities.

It doesn't mean that if a cockbird has 10 hens that he won't abuse or over mate them.

Many breeders keep pairs, trios, quads, etc ....short term and/or long term.

It all depends on the temperaments of the cock and hens and sometimes housing provided.

Backyard flocks can achieve good fertility with a larger ratio.

True, I know this. I’m just saying, it would be likely better with one.

 

[aart]

I’m just saying, it would be likely better with one.

Now saying that would be good......but citing numbers is misleading.