Roosterless flock

[mossyoakpro]

One or more of your hens might take over his duties as flock protector.
Sorry you have to cull your boy, I can't fathom being without a rooster now that I've got 2 good ones, but that's just me..... I love my boys...

I used to like mine before he became an jerk....now he's not worth the trouble of fighting with him every time I go outside. If I had small children he would already be in the stew pot but I'm trying to find him a home. I may have found someone to take him but I made it quite clear....he is NOT nice and will not be good for homes with children or folks that are scared of chickens.

 

[No Coop No Problem]

None of my neighbors have chickens so I don't think mine will go anywhere....the hens are very "needy" of me and come running anytime I'm around. That may be what the problem is with the rooster? They seem to like me better! LOL

Could be. If your rooster is human imprinted then he may see you as competition. I've universally always had more problems with human raised chickens over broody raised

 

[Mrs. K]

I do think a good rooster really helps with daytime flock protection. Thing is, not all roosters are good roosters. In fact, a lot of them are not. Your current rooster is one of those. Most of us have kept a rotten rooster too long the first time. But look around, roosters are plentiful, and anyone who hatches, generally would love to give some away.

What you really need is a rooster that someone has, that should have been culled, but was not cause he is so nice. Ask around, 4-H groups or poultry groups. What is best is a rooster that is about a year old, that has been raised in a multi-generational flock under a good rooster in similar geographic and predators to your own situation.

Roosters should be the first bird to see you, when you enter the area. When out and about, he should have his head up frequently, checking things out. He should keep his girls together, and should escort them to lay. He should wing dance and tidbit.

My daytime predation drops dramatically with a good rooster, and while I have read that a hen will step up, mine never have. When mine 'free range' they are out in pastures of hundreds of acres, not just out in the yard.

However, I am very rural, and we have a lot of predators so I do not free range all of the time. I mix it up, somedays all day, some days parts of the day, and sometimes not at all. If you have serious predator, you need the option to going into lockdown. Once a predator finds you, they will be back, and bring others.

Mrs K

 

[mossyoakpro]

I do think a good rooster really helps with daytime flock protection. Thing is, not all roosters are good roosters. In fact, a lot of them are not. Your current rooster is one of those. Most of us have kept a rotten rooster too long the first time. But look around, roosters are plentiful, and anyone who hatches, generally would love to give some away.

What you really need is a rooster that someone has, that should have been culled, but was not cause he is so nice. Ask around, 4-H groups or poultry groups. What is best is a rooster that is about a year old, that has been raised in a multi-generational flock under a good rooster in similar geographic and predators to your own situation.

Roosters should be the first bird to see you, when you enter the area. When out and about, he should have his head up frequently, checking things out. He should keep his girls together, and should escort them to lay. He should wing dance and tidbit.

My daytime predation drops dramatically with a good rooster, and while I have read that a hen will step up, mine never have. When mine 'free range' they are out in pastures of hundreds of acres, not just out in the yard.

However, I am very rural, and we have a lot of predators so I do not free range all of the time. I mix it up, somedays all day, some days parts of the day, and sometimes not at all. If you have serious predator, you need the option to going into lockdown. Once a predator finds you, they will be back, and bring others.

Mrs K

After the hawk attack I kept them on lockdown for 3 days....I have not had an issue since but my flock seem to be more aware now and stick close to cover at all times. He does the dancing and tidbitting but some of the girls will wander off and he does not seem to care....that's probably how the hawk got one. I too am very rural and have every type of predator there is but fortunately during the trapping season I keep them in check so the 4 legged predators have not been an issue yet. I am truly just tired of fighting with him constantly so he's going elsewhere and I'll start looking for a replacement.

 

[wrathsfarm]

I like what @Mrs. K has to say but I also feel sometimes an attack or a near miss puts them back in check. (That's sad to say, I know).
What I'm getting at is before I had my boys I only had one hen only mixed flock. Had a big scare with them being in woods and a fox got real close. My EE took to the sky and flew thru a barb wire fence to get back into the yard.
She is now like having a second rooster in her flock. She's always very quick to sound an alarm and rarely alone now.
Thankful no fatalities or injuries, but it's a noticable alter to her everyday life now.

 

[Birdinhand]

What works for you is ultimately “what works”. The flock doesn’t need a rooster, the pecking order will be unstable for a bit till someone fills the alpha status void. Roosters tend to try to protect but the minute a predator gets serious, chickens are goners either way. This was true for me on a big farm and is maybe even more true for me in the burbs now. It’s kind of insane how many apex predictors we have prospering in the cracks of city life here. While I’m sad my chickens don’t get to free range I love living in a place that still has a thriving wild element, turns out apex predictors are critical, right down to how a river flows through a valley. Nature is amazing.

So, I focus on offering lots of space in covered runs, “fascinators” like a chicken swing and deep deep litter. I have made a deal with my hens, I provide security and food and lots of room in exchange for eggs. They are happy and alive, my family is well fed, done and done.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'm at the end of my rope with the rooster I have constantly trying to attack me so he's leaving....either in a crate or crock pot, that is still undecided.

To me there are two sides to this. First, he is human aggressive. He is attacking you. There are too many good roosters out there that are not human aggressive to put up with him. I agree with your decision.

Anyway, do the hens do alright by themselves while free ranging?

For a rooster to do any good as a protector the hens need to be close to him. What I've seen when free ranging in the country with lots of space is a few stick close to the rooster but others roam, usually in small sub-groups but occasionally alone. There is no way one rooster can protect them all at all times.

Each chicken has its own personality. The hens will decide if they want to stick close to the rooster or not. Some roosters may try to keep all the hens close but that is not what I normally see. Some roosters will attack a predator or threat. I've seen one drive crows or squirrels away that were in the run. You see some stories on here about a rooster attacking a hawk, fox, or dog. From what I've seen most roosters are pretty good at keeping a watch for predators, especially flying predators. They keep watch and sound an alarm. But they usually lead the race to safety, running as fast as possible to get away, once a threat is identified. While some may sacrifice themselves for the flock most of mine don't. I've lost 13 chickens to two dog attacks. In one the rooster lost a few tail feathers. He did not fight the dogs in either attack.

One thing I regularly see. When they are nervous about something a rooster will often alert the flock and put himself in between what might be a threat and the flock. That could be me if I'm carrying a camera in my hand instead of a feed bucket. They are used to the feed bucket but not the camera. If it is a real threat the rooster may be the first one attacked, whether he tries to run away or not.

I've seen a hawk take a duck under a tree. That hawk wove through the tree branches at high speed and had the duck before it could react. When I was a kid I saw a fox take a chicken from ambush. There was no way a rooster could have reacted if he were only a few feet away, the fox was that quick.

I live in the country and have predators around and have already lost one to a hawk WITH the jackass here so what's the reason to have one? I do not need to fertilize eggs so he's really just another mouth to feed that does nothing but harass me....

Even in the country we all have different predator pressures. Some people are able to free range with no losses for many years. Others would soon be wiped out with or without a rooster. I have no idea how your flock will do without a rooster. For some people it works out great, for some it does not. A good rooster (I agree, not all are good) should be an early warning system for certain types of predators, he can increase your flock's protection some. How much depends on your circumstances and the personalities of the individual chickens.

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

I used to like mine before he became an jerk....now he's not worth the trouble of fighting with him every time I go outside. If I had small children he would already be in the stew pot but I'm trying to find him a home. I may have found someone to take him but I made it quite clear....he is NOT nice and will not be good for homes with children or folks that are scared of chickens.

The best thing to do with an aggressive rooster is kill him. Finding a truly good home for any chicken can be tricky. Unless you know the person very well, and you can truthfully say that they are honest and take care of their animals, it would be easy to accidentally send the chicken off to an abusive home. No one knows who might be doing secret backyard cockfighting, stuffing their chickens in cages, or putting several unsafe species (ducks, geese, turkeys, etc.) with their chickens.

 

[fluffycrow]

Whether a group of hens makes it without a male or not depends on their breed, personality, and age. An older group, while clear and defined roles, will be much more coordinated than a young and inexperienced group. A group of practically flightless brahma will not have much long term luck either. Birds that are not particularly observant will have the most hard time adapting.



What makes a good free range rooster is not a list of hard and fast rules. Different environments will have different demands. Put some of my best males in the Canadian winter and your flock is practically a fox family dinner (if they haven't already died from the cold, that is). I do not expect my males to sacrifice their lives for their females; as most of you already pointed out, when a predator finds a good spot he will come back for more, and with no male to keep an eye out (and not enough time for the females to adapt to his absence), the flock is done for. The only time I'd consider the male going after the predator a positive is if one of his females is already caught. Even then, it's not always the best idea. A rooster's job is to keep an eye out for potential threats, and sound warning calls accordingly. What I have seen is that if there is no time to dash to shelter, a male is likely to make himself bigger, drawing attention to him, and away from his crouching females. In most cases, however, a rooster will have sounded the alarm long before it gets to that point, giving his hens and himself enough time to head to cover.



In wild jungle fowl flocks, one is not likely to encounter the crazy ratios common in backyard flocks. Most wild groups do not consist of more than 5 or so females. More than that, and it becomes a struggle to keep everyone in check. The younger birds have a higher tendency to roam. Those pullets are at a greater risk of being picked off, while the ones sticking closer to the male are more safe. What is often overlooked is the fact that roosters have favourites too. While all females are welcome, managing a large number of them is hard. A male will spend most of his energy keeping his most liked hens close, but the rest, particularly when they are of a younger age and/or more prone to roaming, they'll be left on a longer line

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

Whether a group of hens makes it without a male or not depends on their breed, personality, and age. An older group, while clear and defined roles, will be much more coordinated than a young and inexperienced group. A group of practically flightless brahma will not have much long term luck either. Birds that are not particularly observant will have the most hard time adapting.



What makes a good free range rooster is not a list of hard and fast rules. Different environments will have different demands. Put some of my best males in the Canadian winter and your flock is practically a fox family dinner (if they haven't already died from the cold, that is). I do not expect my males to sacrifice their lives for their females; as most of you already pointed out, when a predator finds a good spot he will come back for more, and with no male to keep an eye out (and not enough time for the females to adapt to his absence), the flock is done for. The only time I'd consider the male going after the predator a positive is if one of his females is already caught. Even then, it's not always the best idea. A rooster's job is to keep an eye out for potential threats, and sound warning calls accordingly. What I have seen is that if there is no time to dash to shelter, a male is likely to make himself bigger, drawing attention to him, and away from his crouching females. In most cases, however, a rooster will have sounded the alarm long before it gets to that point, giving his hens and himself enough time to head to cover.



In wild jungle fowl flocks, one is not likely to encounter the crazy ratios common in backyard flocks. Most wild groups do not consist of more than 5 or so females. More than that, and it becomes a struggle to keep everyone in check. The younger birds have a higher tendency to roam. Those pullets are at a greater risk of being picked off, while the ones sticking closer to the male are more safe. What is often overlooked is the fact that roosters have favourites too. While all females are welcome, managing a large number of them is hard. A male will spend most of his energy keeping his most liked hens close, but the rest, particularly when they are of a younger age and/or more prone to roaming, they'll be left on a longer line