Should I get rid of him?????

[momma's chickens]

Marylandchick, what cute pics. I am sorry you had to part with one of your hens. :| I was just out in the shop tonight and if the poor hen is not better in the morning we will have to cull her. It breaks my heart because it was so needless. He is back out being the king again but I am watching him like a hawk. If I catch him again, he is toast!

 

[larlar23]

i have a couple of chickens do that same thing. they are picking at her butt. i dont know what why they do that . if any one has an answer that would be great. i have moved her to a differnet pen.

 

[Carolyn]

I raised a mixed flock this year and was delighted to find I had 4 BO, exactly what I wanted. They all turned out to be roos so I looked for hens that age and while waiting I was deciding which BO roo to keep. The first one went for meaness to hens but only to my white rocks. The BA, EE, and brown leghorns were never bothered. One by one I culled them all for the very same thing. The most handsome was also mean to the late blooming BO that I keep holding out might be a hen. After I took him out of the pen the late bloomer started crowing and beating up the little white girls too.
The whole lot of them were racist. I now have a beautiful, gentle BR in charge of the ladies.

 

[gritsar]

My brother used to work at a hatchery and it was his job to cull the naturally occuring black chicks. The commercial hatchery he worked for culled the black chicks for a reason. They are different from the majority and they get picked on more. I had very little pecking problems, but when I did it was two of my dark brahmas that got picked on, none of the lights or buffs. I applied pine tar to the backs of the two getting picked on and that stopped it.

 

[larlar23]

where would i fine that pine tar? my chickens that are getting picked at are my easter egg kind. i have hard that that kind of bread is very laid back. i have only got 2 eggs out of them sence they have started to lay and i have about 6 of them. is there any thing i can do to help them lay more?

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
You can find pine tar at feed stores, farmer's co-ops, tractor supply stores, etc. It will probably be in the equine (horse) section, as it's also used on horse's hooves. It will probably say right on the label that it's not for internal use, but believe me the first thing a chicken wants to do once it gets on their beaks is to get it off their beaks as quickly as possible. If you have any qualms on using it, do a search on pine tar right here on BYC. I've used it without any problems at all and it did stop the pecking.
One word of caution: It has to be the messiest stuff you've ever used; worse than super glue. I've found applying it with a popsicle stick or tongue depressor works the best.

 

[Jenlyn9483]

Marylandchic,

Sounds like you just have an overzealouse rooster and not enough hens to appease him, not guaranteeing that 50 would, Sometimes some roosters can be just plain overzealous and too rough with the hens. My grandpa once had a Red cap rooster that he put with his 9 hens and he was so rough he ripped the skin off the backs of their necks. This kind of rooster cannot be cured that i know of and the best place for them is in Chicken and Rice, keep looking for a nicer roo. They are out there. If he is just a rough and randy "mater" then I wouldnt sacrifice my hens to him.

 

[larlar23]

well it is not my roo that is doing it. it is my hens that are doing it. i dont know if i dont have enough room or if it is that they are not busy enough.