Rogue Chickens

[Deborah K]

I've had egg layers for about 10 years now. I don't breed and I don't like having roosters. I buy babies from the feed store and raise them. When they get older, I buy a new batch, hand raise them in my house, and then put them in with the older hens with a place to run to until they assimilate.

I put this last batch out several weeks ago. Their voices are just now starting to change from peeps to clucks. We noticed that one of the Americanas is getting bigger, prettier, and more feathery than the others. (We had a boy once before who got violent with us so we ate him.) So we were thinking oh no, not again. Although we know that the boys can keep the girls in line so we thought, oh well, lets see what happens.

Well, for the first time ever, since I have had hens, there are two rogue hens (7 total adult hens and 5 babies) that won't let up on the babies. They are relentless. Yesterday when I went out to feed them, the baby rooster was on his back, sandwiched between the coop and the community nestbox and bloodied so bad that I thought he was dead. They pecked his eyes out and he has no flesh or feathers on his head. He is still alive though. I put him in a separate cage within the coop to be near his baby sisters, and protected from the rogues.

What is going on? Can anyone help me? If he lives, we'll keep him as a pet. We've named him Beautiful Joe.

 

[ace6175]

OMG! Sorry to hear that! Do you think he will make it?

 

[Dirt Road]

What breed are the culprits?

Jim

 

[Eggs4Sale]

I'd hate to be a blind rooster, poor little thing.

Hope someone on here with blind chicken experience speaks up and advises you. How would a blind rooster eat?

 

[Dirt Road]

Had a hen years ago that I kept alive for about a year after she went blind. I got her as an old hen which slowly went blind over time. Looking back, I honestly can't recommend it, but it seemed worth the effort to me at the time. Not sure her extended life meant as much to the hen as it did to me.

Jim

 

[Deborah K]

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They are white legghorns.

 

[Deborah K]

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I don't have the heart to kill him. But I will if he can't function with just his other senses. I figure if he seems to manage okay, I'll try letting him free-range with the others when he's full grown.

On the other hand, I don't want him to suffer either. I'm not sure what to do and I don't understand what is wrong with the two rogues.

 

[Deborah K]

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It's touch and go right now.

 

[Deborah K]

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He still scratches and pecks although he mostly just sleeps right now. The body's way of healing for birds too I guess. Either that or he's just very weak and dying. I don't know yet, I can't tell.

I'm just not sure what to do about this or about the two rogues.

 

[Dirt Road]

Having had some experience with a breed that was vicious, (NOT fighting chickens!) I have zero patience with that kind of disposition. I put them in the pot or in the ground immediately.
As far as your blind bird being able to free range, I don't think that will work. He won't be able to detect bugs, or especially tasty greens, and would constantly be walking into trouble with any more dominant birds. He wouldn't be able to defend himself, or to retreat from any kind of attack. The hen I had was kept in a pen aprox. 12 ft X 12 ft without other chickens in the pen with her, though they were in adjoining space. The feed and water containers were never moved to a different position, and she just learned where everything was including a low roost.

Jim