Rooster eating feathers

[alb9202]

My dark brahma cockerel has been pulling out an eating neck feathers! He is aggressive about it pinning their heads to the ground before he rips some out and eats the baby feathers!! I have tried everything, apple cider vinegar in the water (possible mineral deficiency) upped protein (black oiled sun flower seeds/ still on 16% starter grower/ left over scrambed eggs and meat scraps) i have read this behavior might be common for those who claim a pullet in attempt to reproduce with them( biting their neck so they can jumpnon them to mate) he has done this to the two other roosters he lives with and there is no consistant pullets that he claims. He is free for the taking and have no possible interests. At what point should i throw in the towel and just cull him!? (He is not human agressive only toward other chickens and cant free range due to predators) ..

 

[lazy gardener]

My dark brahma cockerel has been pulling out an eating neck feathers! He is aggressive about it pinning their heads to the ground before he rips some out and eats the baby feathers!! I have tried everything, apple cider vinegar in the water (possible mineral deficiency) upped protein (black oiled sun flower seeds/ still on 16% starter grower/ left over scrambed eggs and meat scraps) i have read this behavior might be common for those who claim a pullet in attempt to reproduce with them( biting their neck so they can jumpnon them to mate) he has done this to the two other roosters he lives with and there is no consistant pullets that he claims. He is free for the taking and have no possible interests. At what point should i throw in the towel and just cull him!? (He is not human agressive only toward other chickens and cant free range due to predators) ..

I'd cull him yesterday. Sorry to sound callous, but you've increased his protein, and addressed any possible dietary issues. In a last ditch effort: Can you isolate him for a few weeks? This will give one of your other roosters time to rise to dominance. Then when he's released, the other 2 roosters may whip him into shape. I found that when I had 3 roosters, 2 were able to get along, when there were 3, 2 would gang up on the weakest one. How many hens/pullets do you have? What are your breeding goals. Do you really need 3 roosters? I wouldn't recommend allowing this bully to play in the gene pool.

 

[alb9202]

I agree, I actually caught him on two occasions going after my girls and ran in the pen to point my finger at him and chased him around he is some lucky I didn't get a hold of him. He did it again later in the day and enough was enough, he is in an Xxl wire dog crate inside the coop, in "jail". The ratio is 5 hens with 3 roosters! I only need 1! The hatchery sent me an extra which turned out to be a cockerel! The extra is a buff laced polish roo, and all the others are brahmas, this polish roo has feathers yanked out of his head (from the trouble maker) I don't see him standing a chance because he can't see, With those funky feathers he has on his face. I am hoping they will go broody on their own and reproduce, I would like to expand the flock next spring but my girls will only be a year old, I have also though of incubating fertilized eggs. I would love to increase the flock to two dozen some day. I will give him a two week sentence and if he continues I might have to cull my first bird. I have a feeling he will just have to be culled because I strictly remember being only two weeks old causing ruckus in the brooder ;/ it's too bad because he will be such a beautiful bird. Little pecker head he is! thank you for your advice

 

[alb9202]

My solution to this problem is to free range he was let out of jail an bullied a little to re establish dominance but made no contact. I am going to attempt to let him roost in the outside run overnights to keep things civil and everyone else will be locked in the coop, any blood and he is officially in the chopping block