Overamorous cockerel is hurting my one chicken

[Kalimani]

I wish I was that self sufficient and brave. Truth is, I am not. I eat the eggs, but couldn't imagine eating them (although, hypocrite that I am, store bought free range chicken is OK). .

 

[lazy gardener]

Is it braver to allow him to continue to abuse that hen?

 

[Kalimani]

He is no longer able to abuse her as they are separated. I might not be very brave, but I am kind, which is why I posted my question here, to figure out what the best options are for all the chickens concerned.

 

[Pork Pie]

He is no longer able to abuse her as they are separated. I might not be very brave, but I am kind, which is why I posted my question here, to figure out what the best options are for all the chickens concerned.

Agreed, you would not have posted your question if you were not compassionate for the wellbeing of your birds. As long as somewhere in the mix, we've helped, then thats all that could be wished for.

 

[islandgirl82]

In reading through this, I see you tried isolating him but gave him the other hens so he wasn't so distraught. Does this mean your injured hen is back to being by herself until she's healed?

I understand not wanting to eat these birds you've raised but please consider that if you choose to keep him, the chances of passing his aggressive nature onto any offspring are pretty high and yes, you'd have to figure out what to do with any other cockerels. There's also a chance that if he's willing to abuse his hens this way, he may end up turning on people as well. If you can't/aren't willing to eat him, could you find someone who could/would or who is willing to offer him a home with full disclosure about his treatment of this hen?

The problem with keeping her isolated until she heals is that his treatment of her will begin all over again when she's reintroduced and the other hens may not be so welcoming either after they've had some time to adjust their pecking order. I think you'd find you have a much happier flock without a cockerel/rooster around...or at least not him. There are plenty of great roosters that could use a good home and won't be abusive towards any of the hens (or people).

 

[Kalimani]

The injured hen is actually healed now, but I am sure that he will hurt her again, so I am keeping her separate. The other hens spend the mornings with her so that they can get their egg laying done. They get very distraught when separated from the cockerel, which is why I caved in and put them together again.
I was naively hoping for an 'easy' solution, but I think it is clear that he should not be let near her again. And that she should not be punished for his bad behaviour, which it feels like what I am doing now, albeit unintentionally.

It's a bit logistically challenging keeping him locked up and them outside because of my setup here (and their need for access to the egg laying box), but it can be overcome, so I will make a plan for now.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions, it has been insightful, and I have a bit of a better idea about what should be done. I am still new to all of this, and astounded by how ruthless animals can be, a real eye opener. I have first hand experience of a guinea fowl male (my tame baby) that turned into godzilla, and still haven't recovered from that. I'm not up for a repeat performance.

 

[islandgirl82]

If you've decided to remove him from your flock, rest assured, the hens who seem distraught will recover from his loss. If you really do want to have a rooster around, I would suggest researching breeds and find a breeder who takes temperament into consideration and sometimes you'll find people who are looking for new bloodlines or are changing breeds and have a great rooster that's in need of a new home.

 

[chickens really]

One thing you need to be aware of, is that Chickens are Cannibals toward one another and the Pecking order can be ruthless.....If a happy flock does not exist horrid things can and do happen.....Lots of people think Chickens are fun....It takes time to learn your flock and keep things under control.....


Best of Luck!!!


Cheers!

 

[Grace11]

Never, ever put up with a bad Roo. Lazy Gardener was right, introduce him to the crockpot. They will not change or become "nicer", if anything, they just get worse.

 

[Folly's place]

How about this poor injured hen? Is she happy being alone? Probably not. She need to be in with her flockmates, and he's shown himself to be a danger to at least one bird that he should be wooing and protecting. That's not normal! He's the bird who should be gone, not her. Mary