rogue rooster trying to kill me.

[BlueBaby]

You don't want to be hatching out any chick's from the hen's right now, as your attacking roo might be the daddy to them and passing on that mean gene. Either sell the roo's or eat them. If you are unable to do either right now, then put all of those boy's in a separate pen that they cannot get out of to get back to those hen's. I'm sorry that you lost that one hen, but please be smart to put those roo's in a pen away from the hen's, or you could end up with even more dead hen's by your roo's.

 

[Wolfefarmyard]

Well first of all that’s wayyyy too many roosters, your poor hens! Try rehoming them asap! And do NOT just throw them out of the pen for something to get, as someone already said on here, that’s extremely irresponsible!

You own these birds, so it’s your responsibility to properly care for them or figure something out. I highly recommend listing all of your extra boys on Craigslist, including your aggressive one (just make sure to include his behavior.) Another option is to build a pen for all your roosters, which is something people call a bachelor pen.

For the amount if hens you have you really only need 1 rooster if you want to keep one.

I hope my post doesn’t come off as brash, it’s just that “putting them out to fend for themselves” really upset me. I hope that this helps.

Good luck

 

[elmoflim]

22 hens or 11:11 hen rooster ratio. She could have possibly been over-mated or over heated. I’d definitely get a dark tarp to put on the roof. At most two roosters if under 15 hens. The other rooster put in the dog pen. If it is over five roosters his testosterone is probably on overload and he’s trying to be the dominant rooster. If they’re fending for themselves I would go a head and sell a few even if they are to be slaughtered. The quality of life right now wouldn’t be the best.

 

[keesmom]

Yikes. Your flock is a train wreck.

You have far, far too many males. Most, or even all, need to go. And now. Letting them out "to fend for themselves" isn't being a responsible owner, nor is confining them into a small space where they can abuse those hens to death.

Put those males on craigslist and give them away. If someone eats them, so what? A quick humane culling for someone's dinner is a far better death than being chased down and torn apart by a predator.

Good flock management may be unpleasant and ugly, but it is absolutely a necessary part of chicken keeping.

 

[member 512732]

Some roosters are that way. Put a rubber band around his legs. Not to tight, just tight enough to make him not want to run after you or he will fall. If you don't want the other roosters in the pen, you might have to make it where they can't get in. How many do you have? You could take them to a small animal auction. If someone pays enough for them, they probably are not going to eat/kill them. Sorry to hear about your hen. What happened to her? I would put a tarp on top for the sunburned hens until you can finish it. Hope this helps.

I started putting up the tarp but the wind was so bad..I will have to finish next week. As for the rubberbands that might work. I dont have tv and sitting in the back with some beer and watching that butthead try to get me might be fun...or it might just make his leg muscles even stronger. Im not sure how many roosters I have..Im guessing about ten. I know I never should have that many with only about 12 hens..I know. Some of the hens sound just like the rooster and one rooster has started to sound like a hen...I think I have some transgendered chickens. I know females can almost turn into a male when there are none..mine are just doing it to annoy me. I will have to throw the roosters out and lock up the pen and take Tony and put him in a large dog kennel for a few hours..His screaming is pretty bad. He really is a bad, bad, bad rooster. He attacked my pony today cuz he tried to eat the stringbeans I put out for Tony. The pony, Cody, is a pretty big butthead as well..he has ripped my pants pocket cuz he smelled candy. Ive been told I pretty much ruin animals cuz I treat them as I would want to be treated if I was them.

 

[FluffTheDuck]

Have you worn jeans and boots that might fix the problem. Either that or off with his head for me. Enjoy your day hope he doesn't kill you

 

[Fishkeeper]

You need to fix your flock problems. For 11 hens, you should have 1 rooster. Otherwise they are going to kill your hens via stress, and probably start killing each other.

You have two choices. You can build a different enclosure for your roosters to try and have a bachelor flock, or you can find a way to kill them. If you want to try a bachelor flock, you'll need a coop space of, bare minimum, 50 square feet for 10 roosters, and you'll need a contained run to keep them away from your hens. You MIGHT be able to get them to get along in there, but you might have to cull some aggressive ones.
If that won't work, go into the 'where are you" section on this forum and find someone in the area who can humanely cull them for you. You cannot keep that many roosters with your hens, it is cruel to the hens and to the roosters who will start to fight each other.

If you keep chickens, and you get unsexable chicks or eggs, you have to be prepared to deal with the extra roosters. To not be ready for that is irresponsible.

Culling extra roosters is not comparable to culling children. Roosters are not human children, they are birds. If you care for your birds like they're your children, you should act like it, and take steps to prevent the kind of stress they're under now.

You need to prevent your hens getting sunburnt, and you need to prevent all but 1 rooster from accessing them. To not do so is inhumane.

 

[50-45-1]

Craigslist, just like any other social media site must be navigated with caution and use your brain.
I have rehomed excess roosters and picked up for myself many many chickens on craigslist. And Met quite a few very nice people in the process. Yes, there are scammers out there. And actually they are easy to spot and avoid.
Once you pick your nicest rooster and eleminate all the rest, you will start to enjoy your farm stead again. Your hens will recover there feathers and there will be peace on your chicken yard. And when your broody hens present you with more chicks, half will be roosters again and YOU must have a reasonable plan on what to do with them.
NOT what you are doing now!
If Tony was born on my farm, my husband would have used him for target practice long ago.
Honestly, these roosters are a menice to you and God forbid any small children wander thru your yard, cost you a fortune in feed and give you no eggs in return, and they could taste pretty good on your table for sunday dinner.
Do what you want, we can not help you if you do not like our advice.
I am sorry for your hens!

 

[50-45-1]

(I have 11 dogs

once that person came home from work to find blood all over their bedroom...guess who that person is...ME.

You have 11 pitbulls and some person got past them and invaded your bedroom?


The rooster problem goes way down the list of problems i see here.

 

[hispoptart]

I have 22 chickens..the roosters are almost equal to the hens and I tried to throw some of the roosters out of the pen to fend for themselves (I have 11 dogs, 8 cats, donkey and shetland pony). The chickens are currently housed in a house with a 12x24 outside pen..they use the doggy door to go in and out. The hens are currently sleeping on the roof since I didnt finish the covering. Anway one rooster kept getting out...and I kept putting him back in so he would be safe. Tony, the rooster is now the new owner of my property. He attacks me constantly so i carry a stick. I tried to hold him and cuddle him and he bit me which shocked me. Honestly, I was laughing so hard because i didnt know chickens bite but it started bleeding badly. My legs look like I was attacked by an ostrich. He chases me from an acre away. He wont attack the pit bulls, horse, or donkey but he wont back down from them either. He sits on the fence when i am in the shower and stairs at me. He is so creepy. He attacks the fence when I am safely able to get inside. I lost one hen a few days ago...she had no energy so i kept her on my bed and then put her in the quiet closet and she passed away. I need to put the other roosters outside the pen to give the hens a chance to rest. No one will take the roosters and not kill them. None of the roosters want to stay out of the pen..they all run back in. Should I shut up the access to the pen? The hens also have sunburn and I am worried that it will only get worse. I am in arizona. I wont give Tony away but I do have a dog pen I can keep him in part time..it is an 8x4. Im not worried about a cat or even a pit bull killing him...no one will go near him.

I agree with the others, you need to get rid of all the other roosters. I feel sorry for all of your flock. Just a side note you did say " fend for themselves" Bold print above from your post.