Rooster has a death wish

[WyoChick1]

Today our not quite one year old EE boy attacked my 16 year old daughter. She's taller and braver than I am, so I'm sure he's not far off from going after any of us. We suspected we might have to cull him at some point. We're ok with that. My question is, how will the hens respond and adjust? There's 11 of them and they all seem to get along well. Can anyone advise me about what, if anything, to expect? Thanks.

 

[Evadig]

They'll be fine, they might be upset for a bit. The top hen will take over as boss. I'm sure someone with actual experience of this situation will be along to help .

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Honestly, the most upset they'll likely be is when he's first caught if there's a ruckus. They might be confused on where he is for a while, but they most likely won't care after a day that he's not there

 

[LRH97]

They'll probably thank you for it. The pecking order will re-adjust amongst themselves, but not much beyond that. You're certainly doing the right thing culling out a human-aggressive bird. Replace him with another if you want. There are plenty of docile males out there.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Can anyone advise me about what, if anything, to expect?

As others have stated.. They will bicker a bit as the pecking order readjusts and then be a happy flock.. FRIENDLIER to you.. in MY experience.

You can remove him from roost after dark to prevent chasing.. I place into a dog kennel if harvesting the next morning or do whatever (broomstick, etc) outside the presence of the flock.

Glad your daughter is okay and will continue to be safe and enjoy the adventure!

 

[WyoChick1]

Thanks, everyone! At first we thought he was going to be a good rooster, but he's gotten increasingly worse over time. Only my husband seems to be tolerated by him. My daughter was mostly annoyed-- she broke all the eggs in the kerfuffle! My younger daughter is scared of him though. I kinda am too. Time for him to go.
Good ideas about how to remove him! I appreciate the tips!

 

[Ridgerunner]

how will the hens respond and adjust? There's 11 of them and they all seem to get along well. Can anyone advise me about what, if anything, to expect?

By instinct, chickens are prey animals. They do form a social order and attachments but they typically accept a loss and get over it pretty quickly. The flock as a while should. Occasionally you get a chicken that seemed to have a special bond with one but that's usually between hens, not a hen and a rooster. As living animals you can never be sure exactly how an individual will react.

What I would expect is that they will be a bit disoriented for a day or two, a hen will emerge as the new flock leader and take over some of his duties, and they go on being a happy flock. Even a broody hen raising young chicks will be upset for a day or two if they lose all of them but she quickly breaks from being broody and goes back to being a flock member. My broody hens often don't even seem to miss a single one if something happens.

When I have been in similar situations I do what I consider best for the flock and especially best for humans and go from there.