Rooster singling out a hen?

[BarredRockMom]

If he has shown that he'll kill a hen (strike 1 & 2) and traumatize the others (strike 3), he's out!

I'm sure that you thought that you were doing the right thing, so I'm sorry that this has happened. The others are right, he's got to go! They're right to say that there are plenty of nice roosters out there, too. If you want your girls to have a peaceful life without any rooster nonsense, take care of him asap.

 

[BarredRockMom]

Sorry to say that the folks who say "take care of him" (send him to freezer camp, etc) have a solid point about his nasty disposition & not passing that trait on.

Even if he's a little jerk, it's still hard to do so I get it.

 

[buffymama]

we got a new rooster last night and added him into our existing flock (13 hens). we made sure our girls were up in the coop asleep and then we set him in there in a cage with the cage door open. he basically stayed in there all night but sometime this morning he killed one of our buff orpy hens. two of our hens have been in a flock with a rooster so they have adjusted pretty quickly. our new ones have had a bit of trouble but all seem to be settling down. this evening i went to check on them and noticed that my favorite buff orpy named buffy was sitting under the waterer and panting at a very unusual rate. i immediately went into mama mode and scooped her up and put her in one of our big cages and brought her inside. she has a bit of blood on her comb and waddle and she is keeping her left eye closed. she has finally seemed to calm down and isn’t panting anymore. ive given her water and made sure she is cool. i layed with her for an hour and petted her while i did some research trying to figure out what to do. she seems like shes hurting just a little bit but other wise i think she is just petrified cause this rooster has attacked her all day and killed her best friend. is there anything we can do? do we get rid of the rooster? ive been sobbing all day cause ive raised these babies since a week old and i hate seeing them unhappy and in pain. any advice or support is appreciated.

UPDATE!!! we gave the rooster back to my friend and all the hens are doing great now! we really wanted to try getting a rooster but now we know that they can manage with out him. thanks to everyone who helped out and sent advice!!

 

[sourland]

Good decision.

 

[BaaKaaawk]

Roos protect Hens. Roos that kill Hens = stew birds! Yummm.

 

[BaaKaaawk]

UPDATE!!! we gave the rooster back to my friend and all the hens are doing great now! we really wanted to try getting a rooster but now we know that they can manage with out him. thanks to everyone who helped out and sent advice!!

Don't rule out a Roo because you got a bad bird. If you just raise one with the Hens he will be such an asset to your flock. Throwing a grown bird in there isn't a good way to introduce them. Raise one or two in there, you'll be glad you did. Roos are a lot of fun and add a ton of character to the flock.