Rooster problem... he won't let hens sleep in coop at night?

[Cavendish Chickens]

We thought our hens wouldn't sleep in the coop at night because they wanted to be up higher. (Coop is inside enclosed run. Is 8 x 4 x 4) Well we found out the hard way that that's not true. They would like to be in the coop at night, but the rooster won't let them be in there. He chases them out, even tries to beat them up for being in there. Otherwise, he's pretty good with them. He shows them where the treats are, mates with them, and lets them in the coop to lay their eggs... but for nothing else. What can we do about this? In the spring we will be having a shed we'll be using as a coop (split up in sections). What if he tries to not let them in there at night? Should we let them be in their new "coop" for a while before letting him in? And what should we do about this behavior for now until we get the new setup? Please help. Thanks!

 

[Airplaneguy57]

Roos are a dime a dozen. Render him to chicken stock and get another. Now reality, dw Wouldn't let me do that. I would put the bad boy in Folsom prison, ours is a dog kennel,for a while. A week or so might change his mind a bit.

 

[LilChickCoop]

I would get a new Roo.... rehome the other. Of course, my bark is worse than my bite.

 

[Judy]

I agree, don't let him mistreat your hens like that. You can try isolation for a week or so as suggested to see if it will work. I'd probably just put him in the freezer.

 

[Cavendish Chickens]

We had considered putting him in a cage, but it would have to sit near the coop with a heating pad. Due to it being winter now, it would be too cold to keep him anywhere but. And we can't have him in the house. (We live with my parents, and they won't allow it.) I had a thought though... What if we divided the coop in half with a fence? It's 8 ft long by 4 ft wide and 4 ft tall. He sleeps on the side opposite of the nest box, so we could divide it in half, and close the doorway on his side at night. Do you guys think that would work?

 

[Attila the Hen]

With the size coop you have you could put a cat kennel inside with the rooster in that. I recall doing that when I first got my rooster because I didn't trust him with the girls. They all eventually worked it out and I think he was in the kennel a relatively short time.

 

[Chick Charm]

It's better to have only one bird suffer for a short while, than it is for all the hens to suffer for some disoriented roo. Don't forget chicken tastes good. And if he gives the hens any more guff about going into THEIR house, well....YUM YUM!

 

[Cavendish Chickens]

We couldn't "cull" any of them. And I'm not meaning to make the girls suffer. There are two doors on the coop. One on each side. Split the pen in half with a fence. Close the rooster in at night, and let the girls have free choice. Wouldn't that work?

 

[wbruder17]

You don't HAVE to listen to what folks on here say. Everyone always seems in such a rush to kill the roosters. Section off the coop and see if it works. Maybe you could try going out there every night, getting the girls in, and forcing the roo to stay outside for a few nights, if its not too cold and he has a roost. I say, try anything before ending his life just because he is a troublesome rooster.

 

[LilChickCoop]

Quote:
I would think so!