My young rooster just killed one of the hens

[coop410silkies]

I just lost another hen to bully roosters. The hen was a BIG Light Sussex, and the Roos were SS, as usual. I have separated the bully SS Roos from the hens. Already this spring I have rescued two hens that were being terrorized and battered. The SS Roos gang up on them. Honestly, I don't know how to cure them, and I wish I could. I have made inroads with my fish net in reforming their people aggression; tried a number of tactics, and in the end I found I just had to make them afraid of me. I have a number of Roos that are simply wonderful with their hens; they are all Light Sussex. I am trying to set up a SS breeding program, and I'd like to have a good SS Roo that will take good care of his hens. I may have ONE, but if he doesn't behave well, I just may end up letting him in the hen pen to mate with the hens only under supervision. If he bullies or batters, out he goes until the next time. My fishing net makes management of Roos so easy; it is one of my best purchases ever. I can catch and release, herd, maneuver, pull 'em off hens, and just show them who is boss whenever I want, with absolutely no risk of injury to myself. Other tips: always introduce your Roo to your hen pen, not the other way around; in my experience, I've found that aggressive Roos do better with hens they've been brooded with, but there are plenty of exceptions; introduce your Roo slowly, with both visual and physical barriers; watch to see if there are incompatibilities and who gets along (or doesn't) with whom; keep your bullies separate from each other! In one of my flocks I have three Roos: the oldest, a small but excellent RIR alpha Roo, is the leader, and the second lead is a RIRxSS Roo who functions as the enforcer; the 3rd guy is a SS latecomer Roo who is low man on the totem pole and is kept VERY well in check by the other 2 Roos who don't believe in hen battering. This last guy spends all his time sparring with his sibling housed in a separate pen; the other two Roos don't even bother, they just take care of the hens. They are the best deterrent I've come by. Some roosters just seem to pick on a certain hen. I ended up giving mine away to someone who wanted to eat him and his brother, and it was fine with me. There is no way to justify keeping a rooster that kills hens. Once you've got that figured out, a nasty Roo just may feel the change in your attitude and mend his ways, but probably not and don't count on it.

 

[Kaylin]

I'm confused as to why people would want to keep an extreme bully rooster. I know roosters will sometimes have some aggression. Of course. But why go to ridiculous lengths for some of these horrible boys that people have been writing about. Do you want to breed them? If so.....why? Why take a risk on perpetuating that tendency on down the line?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I'm confused as to why people would want to keep an extreme bully rooster. I know roosters will sometimes have some aggression. Of course. But why go to ridiculous lengths for some of these horrible boys that people have been writing about. Do you want to breed them? If so.....why? Why take a risk on perpetuating that tendency on down the line?

Don't know why either. I consider myself head rooster even though I'm an old lady, I protect my hens first, roosters come and go and there are many to choose from, so I won't think twice about culling any rooster that is aggressive to anyone.

 

[fuzzy cat]

So is there a way to get rid of it?

 

[fuzzy cat]

So if my rooster is the Same age as my hens he won't kill them?

 

[drumstick diva]

There is NEVER a good reason to keep a bad rooster. The meanest roosters make the best soup. If you don't want to cull him - give him away and someone else will be glad to have him for dinner.

 

[coop410silkies]

Really good questions, Kaylin. Don't have any good answers, only some insights about myself.

I think I have gone through extreme lengths to give my roosters a chance, and it really defies reason why i do this.

I come from an old male-poor New England family that adheres to the proposition that males are special and females are NOT. I know, of course, that this isn't true or right, but it's the grounds on which i was raised, and I am ALWAYS at the effect of it, no matter what I say or believe.

Oddly enough, I've never bought a rooster or even been inclined to buy one; I just ended up with some and find I rather like having them around.

Many times a rooster won't show a bad temperament until he's older; by the time he starts showing aggression, his keeper may have grown fond of him.

If the keeper is like me, he is reluctant to kill living animals, and he may keep a rooster on hoping its aggression was either a fluke, something situational that can be cured, or it was just "something odd about that particular hen."

And when you think about it, how often do you hear about roosters killing hens? I thought roosters NEVER killed their hens, always thought it was hens pecking on the lowest ranking hen. I was shocked when I saw my rooster baby doll going after a hen with a blood lust.

Like I say, though, males are special - up until the day I say NOT.

 

[fuzzy cat]

where tring to give are rooster away

 

[fuzzy cat]

i have a mean buff rooster

 

[NaturesX]

I'm pretty sure this just happened to us... 2 silkie roo's which are the youngest of 13 additional hens... My best egg layer was dead this morning... I've seen one of the roosters go after one of my hens, but thought it was a mating thing... I don't want another one dead. They will be outdoor roos and I will supervise when all are free ranging for now...these are my first roos so live and learn I guess..I see why people don't keep them... Unfortunate..