OK...I need some HELP!!!

fradytrc

Chirping
8 Years
Jul 18, 2011
40
3
89
Central NC
I have a flock of 15...2 roosters and 13 hens.....The other night when I went to make sure all the chickens were back to the coop 1 rooster and a black & white hen did not return from their outing in my backyard...couldn't find them anywhere. The next morning Mr. Butterbutt was back but his female cohort was not. I automatically assumed something got her in the woods or really I had no idea what happened. So that puts me down to 14 total. Yesterday I looked outside and began counting and there were my 14. An hour later, way before dark, I went to do a headcheck and there were 14 but I was missing my favorite hen, Buttercup. This morning, it dawned on me that I'm supposed to have 14 with Buttercup and 13 without her. Well, Buttercup is still not home and the black & white hen from the other day is back. I've gotten really confused on my counting.

My question is this....What is going on????? Do hens wander off and then return a couple days later? I'm new at this and I need all the inside help I can get.

One other question I have concerns my rooster Butterbutt. (These are the only 2 I have that are named Butter.....My daughter named them that because they are our 2 favorites and they are so similar in their coloring.) I had 10 roosters and sold 8 of them last week. Butterbutt has since kind of become a loner. He wanders away from the flock sometimes. Every night he tries to roost somewhere outside the coop like on my patio. He will come to me the minute he hears my voice and loves to be held. The other rooster, Colonel, is keeping himself surrounded by the ladies which Butterbutt does at times but not nearly as much as Colonel. Can one of you chicken psychologists help me diagnose my rooster's personality?
 
i wonder if the hens have found themselves a outdoor natural nest? and they both know where it is? and as far as your roo's sounds like hes just low on the totem pole.. if you can separate them and give him a couple of hens it might raise his dominance, but other wise he probably wont rock the boat with the colonel,,,,

good luck give them time to work it all out..

Pink
 
It's no WONDER "Butterbutt" is not as dominant as "Colonel"!! Look at their names!
lau.gif
 
I see your point about the names...They were named almost as soon as we knew they were roosters and those names just kindof came out of our mouths.

Do you think it's 2 late to get their wings clipped? I couldn't do it myself but it would keep them from flying on the roof. They are 5 months old....Still no eggs!!!!
 
Absolutely not! You'll need to clip them every couple of months...there's a nifty diagram on here somewhere. Search for "clipping wings" or something like that. I'll look too. I followed it when I clipped all my girls (both sides!). My husband held each and we snipped away!

Found it!

82651_22131_wingclipping.jpg
 
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