Rooster Bullies

[Chicki Tiki Tavi]

I have a very strange looking mixed breed cockerel. He is part of a batch of eggs that hatched on May 8, 2017. He is about half the size of the other 13 chickens in the flock and seems to be a silkie/frizzle mix. He's very lacking in the feather department and in general just looks "mangy". Up until this point, nobody has really picked on him, but the bigger roosters have begun mating with the ladies. Being the "ugly chickling", the ladies have no interest in him. I've been wondering why his feathers haven't been filling in as they should, and today when the heavy downpour of rain came in and everyone ran into the coop to stay dry, he was left outside alone. When I found him he was soaked to the skin, because he has fluffy feathers that are few and far between. I ushered him into the coop to warm up and dry off, and 3 of the larger roosters immediately attacked him and began ripping his (few) feathers out. I scooped him up and took him into the garage to dry out and get warm. I quickly realized that the large majority of his feathers were "chewed off" at the base, or plucked completely clean. I decided to put him in the brooder and keep him in the garage for the night. But what do i do when morning comes? Reintroduce him to the flock, or give him a few days to heal? Will he be okay alone and segregated from the flock?

 

[keesmom]

Do you have only 13 birds total? And at least 4 of those are male? That's a little too much testosterone for a small flock. No wonder he stayed out in the rain to keep his butt from getting kicked.

He will be fine for a day or 2 separated from the flock but that won't fix the bigger problem. It will likely happen again unless you remove most or all of the other males.

 

[Nyla]

I agree with Keesmom. That is way too many roosters in that small flock. 1 rooster can cover 12 hens. I would defiantly re-home or send to freezer before any more damage is done.

 

[Chicki Tiki Tavi]

I intend to harvest a few of the roosters, but they have not reached a full size quite yet. Because they are a bantam breed, they've just started putting on considerable size in the last two weeks. Unfortunately I didn't get to choose how many I was raising, as we hatched these eggs in my classroom as a project.

 

[aart]

Welcome to BYC!
Definitely looks like a silkie mix.
You could put the extra males in separate pen until your butcher time,
give the girls a break....might have to put the silkie in his own pen/crate.

I slaughter my extra cockerels by 16 weeks,
still tender enough for the grill and killer bone stock,
and before they start getting too randy.

 

[Chicki Tiki Tavi]

Do you have only 13 birds total? And at least 4 of those are male? That's a little too much testosterone for a small flock. No wonder he stayed out in the rain to keep his butt from getting kicked.

He will be fine for a day or 2 separated from the flock but that won't fix the bigger problem. It will likely happen again unless you remove most or all of the other males.

Any advice on choosing which rooster to keep for my ladies? I'm having a hard time deciding. Do I keep the most aggressive one? The biggest one? The prettiest one? It's hard to kill your "babies" as a first time chicken mom.

 

[keesmom]

Unfortunately they are still young at this point so it's difficult to know what their temperament will be once they mature. Most people want to keep the one that treats the hens well and respects humans. Is there one in particular you seem to like?

Of course there is also no reason to keep any if you don't want to hatch eggs.

 

[Chicki Tiki Tavi]

Unfortunately they are still young at this point so it's difficult to know what their temperament will be once they mature. Most people want to keep the one that treats the hens well and respects humans. Is there one in particular you seem to like?

Of course there is also no reason to keep any if you don't want to hatch eggs.

I was partial to one of them, but he has been becoming very rough with the hens recently. I do intend to hatch some of them, but they're all different mixed breeds. So do I choose the rooster that seems like he would make the prettiest mix with all of my different hens?

 

[aart]

Unfortunately they are still young at this point so it's difficult to know what their temperament will be once they mature. .

Also difficult to assess when there are multiple males, the competitive environment bring out the worst of all their behaviors. Why a separate enclosure for all the males, then put on in at time with the flock and see what you see.

 

[lazy gardener]

How big is your coop and run? I agree, those cockerels should be removed from the flock. You could leave one. And that silkie mix will need to be segregated till he's healed. Check him for mites/lice.