Rooster tried to KILL 2 of my hens!!

[MissPrissy]

chicken stalker ;p :

The one is"gimpy", she's been that way ever since the falcon attack a month ago. Could it be a reaction to the negative temperatures that we have been having? Or is he just trying to cull the weakest links?

There is your answer. He is culling the weakest member of the flock that puts them all in danger.​

 

[the1much]

chicken stalker ;p :

He's been mating for at least 2 months now, including those girls. The one is"gimpy", she's been that way ever since the falcon attack a month ago. No signs of blood on her but the one that was starved and attaked had several wounds on her comb. They are both the small hens of the flock. Thankfully he doesn't have any spurs and he isn't aggressive to the other girls or to me. Even the duck tries to mate him and doesn't respond in a aggressive way.

Could it be a reaction to the negative temperatures that we have been having? Or is he just trying to cull the weakest links?

sounds like there MAY be something wrong with the hens,, not him,, the 1 that was attacked by the hawk could have "internal" problems, that you cant see,,,, the other, could be something with her too,,,,, they are only chickens,, but they know when theres something wrong with "others",,, i would separate the 2 hens, and see if he does it to any other hen,,,,,,,,, but,, i'd probably bet he's trying to cull them cause they have a problem. he sounds like a great roo,, and he has a responsibility to make his "herd" strong,, and thats what it sounds like he's doin.​

 

[redhen]

i would never keep a roo that did that...its not worth the fertile eggs to me..

 

[chicken stalker]

Thank you sooo much for the responses. He really is a "gentlemen" roo. He calls the girls in and waits patiently, cooing as they lay thier eggs. He makes nesting motions and checks on them. He is a very kind rooster....I was soooo shocked at what happened today.

Unfortunatly I think "gimpy" has a problem with her hip and probably will always be gimpy.

The two hens are seperated from the rest of the flock. Do you think I can (gradually) reunite them once they have recovered (if they recover)?

 

[redhen]

chicken stalker ;p :

Thank you sooo much for the responses. He really is a "gentlemen" roo. He calls the girls in and waits patiently, cooing as they lay thier eggs. He makes nesting motions and checks on them. He is a very kind rooster....I was soooo shocked at what happened today.

Unfortunatly I think "gimpy" has a problem with her hip and probably will always be gimpy.

The two hens are seperated from the rest of the flock. Do you think I can (gradually) reunite them once they have recovered (if they recover)?

if you put them back with bruiser..he'll just kill them....​

 

[SussexInSeattle]

Just my opinion from having many animals in my life but my suggestion is to put the gils into the witness protection program and get them to another home far away from your home so that they can live out their lives together in peace.

In many ways it sounds like your rooster is a great guy but unfortunately it also sounds like he has his animal instincts intact and is more reacting on those instincts than on being a domesticated animal. You see that ALL the time in other animals such as cats and dogs.

 

[msgenie516]

chicken stalker ;p :

Thank you sooo much for the responses. He really is a "gentlemen" roo. He calls the girls in and waits patiently, cooing as they lay thier eggs. He makes nesting motions and checks on them. He is a very kind rooster....I was soooo shocked at what happened today.

Unfortunatly I think "gimpy" has a problem with her hip and probably will always be gimpy.

The two hens are seperated from the rest of the flock. Do you think I can (gradually) reunite them once they have recovered (if they recover)?

Hi,

I am no expert at this so I can only tell you what I would do. If I wanted to keep the roo and the two hens, I would keep the two hens in a separate coop and run. I would be extremely worried that the roo would grab the first opportunity to kill both of them.

I'm very lucky in that my husband is very handy and could quickly put together another coop and run for an emergency like this. Good luck! Genie​

 

[the1much]

chicken stalker ;p :

Thank you sooo much for the responses. He really is a "gentlemen" roo. He calls the girls in and waits patiently, cooing as they lay thier eggs. He makes nesting motions and checks on them. He is a very kind rooster....I was soooo shocked at what happened today.

Unfortunatly I think "gimpy" has a problem with her hip and probably will always be gimpy.

The two hens are seperated from the rest of the flock. Do you think I can (gradually) reunite them once they have recovered (if they recover)?

i would take them out,, then "work" on them,, get them feeling better, and would watch for illness warning signs,, and in a few months, you can try to re-introduce them,, usually even a week later, their totally " different" to the flock, just like they've never met before,,, BUT,, that also means, your gonna have to watch them get "picked" on, feathers pulled, and chases, from all the other hens . they ALL will need to show where they are on that big ladder

EDIT: ta add ,,, HE WASNT TRYING TO KILL THEM !!! geesh,,,, people think bout it,, he had 1 in a corner already, coward down,, he LEFT her,, no blood,, no hanging wings,, and then went to the other,, STILL NOT causing REAL harm,,,,,, a scratched up comb is something EVERY hen and roo gets ALL the time. do you REALLY think that , if that roo wanted them dead,,, he couldnt have done it????????????????? it would take a roo about 3 minutes to kill a hen,,especially a SMALL HEN.,,, but he didnt,, he actually WALKED AWAY from 1

(not pointed to the OP

)​

 

[deborah]

We had a similar situation. We hatched and raised a rooster. He was a good rooster and we watched him mature and gradually dominate each hen in the flock. A couple months ago, we noticed him beating up one of the hens. She had a bloody neck. We brought her in to heal and put her back out after a few days. He did it again. She was one of the larger hens, perfectly healthy. She had been at the top of the pecking order. I think she wouldn't allow him to breed her so he was trying to get rid of her.

My husband said, who is more valuable to us, the hen or the rooster? The answer was the hen and the rooster ended up on the rotisserie. I miss watching him in interact with the hens and I think there's more squabbling among the hens now that he's gone. But we couldn't let him kill this hen. It makes me wonder if we will ever be able to introduce a rooster into our flock.

 

[redhen]

Quote:
i would take them out,, then "work" on them,, get them feeling better, and would watch for illness warning signs,, and in a few months, you can try to re-introduce them,, usually even a week later, their totally " different" to the flock, just like they've never met before,,, BUT,, that also means, your gonna have to watch them get "picked" on, feathers pulled, and chases, from all the other hens . they ALL will need to show where they are on that big ladder

EDIT: ta add ,,, HE WASNT TRYING TO KILL THEM !!! geesh,,,, people think bout it,, he had 1 in a corner already, coward down,, he LEFT her,, no blood,, no hanging wings,, and then went to the other,, STILL NOT causing REAL harm,,,,,, a scratched up comb is something EVERY hen and roo gets ALL the time. do you REALLY think that , if that roo wanted them dead,,, he couldnt have done it????????????????? it would take a roo about 3 minutes to kill a hen,,especially a SMALL HEN.,,, but he didnt,, he actually WALKED AWAY from 1

(not pointed to the OP

)

yeah, i know WHO you were pointing at, you dang Hippie!

......AND