Rough Rooster Solution?

[Stephine]

I need to do something about my 4 year old rooster. My flock is aging and some have health issues and he has not calmed down after the Spring this year and is causing havoc in the coop. One (very slow, ascites afflicted) hen he mounted enough to make her bleed which set of a pecking frenzy. He also has become over protective of his hens and started attacking me if I don’t watch out.
I can’t kill him. I have tried sanctuaries and BYC with no luck. I advertised him on craigslist and finally had interest from someone. When I asked for his plans for him he said he wanted him for a pet. I had disclosed that he was acting aggressive, so that was a bit of a surprise. I had also said that I think he could be trained/tamed, so I don’t think it‘s out of the question. Anyway... He said he had a coop but no chickens. I sent him something on behavior training a roo, asked him where he lived since the city he indicated has a no rooster law, and asked for a few pics of his set up. Of course I haven’t heard back a peep. Which is fine because for some reason I got weird vibes from him and was worried he might want him for fighting (which is a problem here sometimes). Sooo - it just occurred to me that I could just get a ready made coop, stick it at the far end of the property and keep him there. He can hang out in the horse pasture. I might even have his brooder mate hen there with him for company, if he doesn’t rough her up. (he doesn’t mount her, she is pretty confident). What do you think? He can probably hear his flock from there, but he won’t be able to see them...

 

[JaeG]

I definitely think you need to separate him from your hens who aren't able to stand up to his over attentiveness, and confine him where he can't attack you. A smaller coop sounds like a great idea, even if it has to be his bachelor pad. If your girls free range nearby that should be enough company for him if you do find he is too rough on the hen you'd like to separate him with. I hope it works out well for you and your rooster.

 

[Mtnboomer]

Any aggression from roosters is met with a quick trip to the freezer.

 

[Stephine]

Any aggression from roosters is met with a quick trip to the freezer.

I know. Can’t do it. Not opposed to others doing that though. My question was more if this seems like an acceptable set up.

 

[Stephine]

I definitely think you need to separate him from your hens who aren't able to stand up to his over attentiveness, and confine him where he can't attack you. A smaller coop sounds like a great idea, even if it has to be his bachelor pad. If your girls free range nearby that should be enough company for him if you do find he is too rough on the hen you'd like to separate him with. I hope it works out well for you and your rooster.

I was thinking of putting him all the way on the other end of the property so he wouldn’t see his flock and go gaga trying to get to them and manage them. Seems better to me, even if it is a bit lonely - no? I wonder if hearing them in the distance would still be too much... I might have to trim his wings a bit so he won’t go over the fence. He‘s a big guy and has always been contained with a 3 foot fence, but of course he wasn’t trying to get away from his flock. Might become more athletic when he tries to get to them...?

 

[Mtnboomer]

I know. Can’t do it. Not opposed to others doing that though. My question was more if this seems like an acceptable set up.

In that case, i think you will be stressing him out. He's going to want go rejoin his girls, especially if he can hear them but physically can't return to them.

You may be better off separating the weakest hens but keeping them close enough that they still feed and are seen by the rooster.

 

[JaeG]

I kept a rooster in his own coop and run still amongst the flock. He does have some girlfriends in with him now. He's not trustworthy with our kids so I couldn't have him free ranging with the rest of the flock, but he was fine just socialising with the other birds through the wire and strutting his stuff. I never felt he was stressed by the set-up.

 

[Cazook]

Make soup. It's unfair to the hens to leave them with an aggressive rooster. Keeping him in a coop by himself is an unnecessary cruelty as chickens are flock animals. When owning chickens it's important to realise you will need to kill some of them eventually. All get disease or illness in the end.

If you're really prepared to look after this bird for its life span then you could integrate and pen it with another few roosters. But no guarantee that would solve any of the aggression problems really.

 

[Stephine]

Make soup. It's unfair to the hens to leave them with an aggressive rooster. Keeping him in a coop by himself is an unnecessary cruelty as chickens are flock animals. When owning chickens it's important to realise you will need to kill some of them eventually. All get disease or illness in the end.

If you're really prepared to look after this bird for its life span then you could integrate and pen it with another few roosters. But no guarantee that would solve any of the aggression problems really.

Yeah, not soup. I‘m fine taking care of him and he is not aggressive with me per se, his aggression comes from wanting to „protect“ his hens from me. If it’s just between him and me, he will give me space.