Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Molpet]

I've seen this happen before. In my experience these events, while rare, can get really violent. The senior rooster is unlikely to back down because of how much he has to lose. In the flock I had when I was a teenager, there was a point where I had way too many rooster and no way to deal with them. My favorite rooster, Penny, a magnificent crele mix who was the size of a small barge, kept the peace for many years. I was very attached to him, he was raised by a family with a young girl (who named him Penny because they thought he was a pullet) and the kid loved him very much, even though they had to give him away to us. He was gentle and kind, imagine the ideal flock protector, that was him. One day I walked outside and noticed a drop of blood on the ground, and looked up to see one of the young upstart cockerels (a silver ameraucana cross) with his feathers soaked and matted with blood. He was hanging out with the group like there was nothing wrong. It took me a while to find Penny. He was in much worse shape, cowering in a hiding spot about 100ft from the coop, equally blood soaked and blinded in one eye. One of my biggest regrets with those chickens is that I didn't bring him inside that night. I never saw him after that, he didn't return to the coop, and I believe something came and picked him off in the night. At least he had a very long and peaceful reign

It's not always kind to keep the disposed kings. I have been and it rather sad to see them running across the road in fear. Difficult to keep them all separated.

I have 4 coops with at least 2 different age roosters in each. This worked until the wild canines have been reducing the hens. The spare roosters have been taking on dominant roosters for the other coops. I now have 3 ex dominant roosters with a broken foot that are hiding. And a spare that is blind in one eye.
I harvested a couple spare roosters from last year and a cockerel from this year. Several more cockerels I have to make hard choices with. One is getting interested in my feet. He briefly flared hackels at me yesterday. Otherwise he hasn't caused any problems. Time will tell.

 

[Labsandchickens8]

In an ideal world, we would make enough from selling eggs to cover feed, but it really isn't that important because I just love them. When everything else is stressing me out, I just visit with the chickens and I feel calm.

Definitely cheaper than therapy. Not that I've had it, but I imagine it's expensive.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

I work from home, the Egg Thief is retired, we are in each other's general vicinity 24-7 and we rarely have any fussing, even with everything that has happened this year.

We enjoy each other’s company, but are both loners by nature, and so we have to occasionally recharge our (very tiny) social batteries with some away time.

#LonersInLove

 

[MrsNorthie]

We enjoy each other’s company, but are both loners by nature, and so we have to occasionally recharge our (very tiny) social batteries with some away time.

#LonersInLove

We are too, we can go hours puttering and doing independent stuff and never say a word. It works well.