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I have 3 Roos with what will soon be 11 hens( 9 until the 2 older ones that got dumped on me integrate). I love the concept of a good roo but know I am new to this and that realistically I cannot keep all three. As long as they got along I wasn't messing with them just observing them. I am only attached to one...eh...maybe two. Oh, and they are right at 4 months old or a bit older. My favorite is the RIR (or hatchery red), he is going to be one gorgeous boy and so far has been respectful and moves out of my way. He and the BR roo have been together since day one. I have never seen them do more than squabble a bit and many times they can be found side by side. Both of them have attempted to mount some of the pullets but when they squawk or fight they back off. Now roo number 3 I have almost begun to hate. He is a New Hampshire and though 2 weeks younger is as big if not bigger than the RIR. He is obnoxious, plain and simple. For the past week he has been terrorizing the entire flock. I have gone down both Wednesday and yesterday to deal with him. He jumped on a pullet right at my feet at one point and was extremely rough and would NOT let go until I kicked him. He was challenging me but now that I have disciplined him a few times, he runs like the wind when he sees me. Today so far things are calm and quiet. I still want him gone. Trust me, I never thought I would be able to cull my own rooster but this boy has created such chaos for the past few days that if I had the time right now for the learning curve of processing him, he WOULD be Sunday dinner. And please nobody tell me I can do it....I will eventually but I know when I have too much on my plate and right now I do. He is lucky the run is covered or the other day when I actually got my hands on him I would have tossed him over the fence into the field to fend for himself. Actually, I am glad I couldn't ....that would have been cruel but I was mad enough at the time to do it. I have put the word out that anyone who wants him can have him, no questions asked. Hubby asked me why I didn't just separate him into the pen with the 2 older new hens and let them deal with him. They are about 4 year old SLW's and sweet hens that are still laying. I don't know if they deserve to have to deal with him. I have thought about putting him in a crate inside their pen and seeing how the main flock reacts to him being gone. A friend who has raised chickens for awhile said she never had a New Hampshire that wasn't aggressive so she doesn't want him. I think with him being such a nutcase at such a young age that there really is no future for him in a flock. Am I wrong? Anyway, he made my choice of which roo to get rid of pretty easy.
 
Birdydeb said:
I have 3 Roos with what will soon be 11 hens( 9 until the 2 older ones that got dumped on me integrate). I love the concept of a good roo but know I am new to this and that realistically I cannot keep all three. As long as they got along I wasn't messing with them just observing them. I am only attached to one...eh...maybe two. Oh, and they are right at 4 months old or a bit older. My favorite is the RIR (or hatchery red), he is going to be one gorgeous boy and so far has been respectful and moves out of my way. He and the BR roo have been together since day one. I have never seen them do more than squabble a bit and many times they can be found side by side. Both of them have attempted to mount some of the pullets but when they squawk or fight they back off. Now roo number 3 I have almost begun to hate. He is a New Hampshire and though 2 weeks younger is as big if not bigger than the RIR. He is obnoxious, plain and simple. For the past week he has been terrorizing the entire flock. I have gone down both Wednesday and yesterday to deal with him. He jumped on a pullet right at my feet at one point and was extremely rough and would NOT let go until I kicked him. He was challenging me but now that I have disciplined him a few times, he runs like the wind when he sees me. Today so far things are calm and quiet. I still want him gone. Trust me, I never thought I would be able to cull my own rooster but this boy has created such chaos for the past few days that if I had the time right now for the learning curve of processing him, he WOULD be Sunday dinner. And please nobody tell me I can do it....I will eventually but I know when I have too much on my plate and right now I do. He is lucky the run is covered or the other day when I actually got my hands on him I would have tossed him over the fence into the field to fend for himself. Actually, I am glad I couldn't ....that would have been cruel but I was mad enough at the time to do it. I have put the word out that anyone who wants him can have him, no questions asked. Hubby asked me why I didn't just separate him into the pen with the 2 older new hens and let them deal with him. They are about 4 year old SLW's and sweet hens that are still laying. I don't know if they deserve to have to deal with him. I have thought about putting him in a crate inside their pen and seeing how the main flock reacts to him being gone. A friend who has raised chickens for awhile said she never had a New Hampshire that wasn't aggressive so she doesn't want him. I think with him being such a nutcase at such a young age that there really is no future for him in a flock. Am I wrong? Anyway, he made my choice of which roo to get rid of pretty easy.
Click to expand...
Save yourself and your birds the stress. Separate the miscreant from the flock....completely. stick him in a pen or cage of his own, with food and water. Do not stick the new hens with him, they will have enough to deal with when you start to integrate them with the rest of the flock members. You add the over sexed cockrel to the mix and those old girls may not lay another egg for a year! They don't deserve it. I've got a trio of cockrels that tried to mount the meat chicks that hatched out about 5 weeks ago...their Momma Birds took care of them....put the run on the boys...most cockrels will go through the adolescent/hormonal mania for a few months, then start to get the hang of things....but I've had a few that just never seem to slow down....when they start "Raping" the hens and are hurting them, their gig is up....it's followed by a very quick "Off With His Head"....it's unbelievable how disruptive they can be...and how wonderfully calm the birds become almost as soon as the instigator(s) are dealt with...you wonder why you waited so long to take care of business.
 
the poppster said:
Save yourself and your birds the stress. Separate the miscreant from the flock....completely. stick him in a pen or cage of his own, with food and water. Do not stick the new hens with him, they will have enough to deal with when you start to integrate them with the rest of the flock members. You add the over sexed cockrel to the mix and those old girls may not lay another egg for a year! They don't deserve it. I've got a trio of cockrels that tried to mount the meat chicks that hatched out about 5 weeks ago...their Momma Birds took care of them....put the run on the boys...most cockrels will go through the adolescent/hormonal mania for a few months, then start to get the hang of things....but I've had a few that just never seem to slow down....when they start "Raping" the hens and are hurting them, their gig is up....it's followed by a very quick "Off With His Head"....it's unbelievable how disruptive they can be...and how wonderfully calm the birds become almost as soon as the instigator(s) are dealt with...you wonder why you waited so long to take care of business.
Click to expand...


Thank you for validating what I am thinking. I didn't feel like the old girls deserved it either. They are sweet hens and didn't have the happiest life before since they lived in a 8'x 4' plastic covered run all year long. I have them set up in a 10' x 10' chain link dog pen and I should have taken pictures of their pure delight at being able to dust bathe. I don't have another pen at the moment to put him in but I think I have someone willing to come get him. If they don't I can probably rig a run/pen fairly quickly. It is pretty quiet today but still not totally back the way it was. Since I bought my chicks 6 and 6, they had a tendency to divide into 2 flocks but were doing very well in the run together mingling and scratching around side by side. No major disagreements just a bit of pecking order type pecking sporadically here and there and were all roosting together. He upset the order of things in such an unbelievable way and I should have known the very first night 4 or 5 days ago that it had started because I had hens delaying going to roost when they had been going peacefully for a couple weeks now. :( I did start watching closer to see what was up and pretty quickly realized he was antagonizing EVERYBODY. Even the hens he has grown up with. As young as he is and creating such disruption I felt he lost his right to continue to live with my flock. I am totally getting it about the stress. Thank you for your thoughts.
 
I just love to watch my boss roo interact with my neighbor...every time the neighbor comes to visit, that big old white rock roo has to size him up....what a hoot! He struts up to Jimmy and stops about three feet away then tilts his head to look up and give Jimmy the benefit of a Full Right eyeball stare! At the same time showing off his Big Red comb...I don't think he realizes that the frigid temperatures his first winter, left him with a bit of a crew cut, as far as rooster combs go. He is so obviously picking him out for a challenge. Not in a frightened "Umbrella Neck" approach....more of a man to man...chest bumper challenge...before it gets to the tap dance...I usually step in and put a stop to it....honestly I think that rooster is taking his cues from the dog....my border collie...she has been extremely suspicious of the neighbors since day one and will bark at Jimmy whenever he comes over.....I wonder?
 




700
that's him on the left we got rid of the other one a little to much breeding of the hens
His name is little John and he is a barnyard mix we got at auction and he is very sweet with the hens
 

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