Still thinking of getting rid of the rooster

[ace6175]

My hens look pathetic. I have 3 bald hens, and he treats 1 hen so badly - chases her away from treats. He is a pig, doesn't want to share treats with the hens. At this point, I'm only keeping him around for possible protection from predators, but not sure he will be much help! Plenty of days I threaten to get rid of him.
I made a saddle for 1 hen whose back was getting a little bare. She broke some feathers getting it off and now looks worse than ever! Do I have to wait for her to molt to grow her feathers back? I just ordered a saddle from someone else - supposed to be harder for the hen to get off.
Thanks for any advice.

 

[Illia]

Yeah, the thing to do is either get saddles and somehow solve the issue on the one hen or just plain get rid of him. We don't tolerate bare backs, mean roosters, or greedy roosters.

Once they're away from him or have saddles, the next molt will indeed grow back new feathers.

 

[chicmom]

You should get rid of that rooster. He's just really mean.......poor gals. A good rooster would point out the treats to his ladies....not keep them away.....sounds like he should go into the soup pot.

Also, the feathers will grow back if the quills are out too...but if the quills are in, then they won't grow back until the next molt.

Oh, it's really sad when your chickens are upset, huh. I just hate that. I vote, get rid of him. Maybe get another rooster--a chick though, and raise it up to be very tame. Pick a docile breed.

Good luck!

Sharon

 

[angel28]

I'd say get rid of him. It isn't fair on the hens.

 

[gckiddhouse]

As soon as you DO get rid of him, and you see how calm your hens instantly become, and their feathers grow back and you enjoy them again - you'll wonder, "what the heck was I waiting for???"

I have been there...

Just want to add that there may be hens picking feathers in addition to the rooster being mean. Meanness spreads in a flock. That is why it is so ugly. When the rooster or a mean hen starts their wrath, it spreads and the more dominant hens will pick up on the behaviors. You may get rid of the rooster and find that you have more clean up to do.

I put up with this for a while and separated hens, and put saddles on and blah blah blah. Looking back - it just took all the joy out of having chickens. My advice is, clean it up and clean it up fast! If you have to cull a few hens, too, then do it. Sell them or put them in the soup pot.

This is one of those necessary but not fun parts of owning chickens. But when you get it cleaned up, you will breathe a big sigh of relief, and so will your chickens!

Good luck!

 

[Sunny Side Up]

What's your roostern ratio? The ideal is 1:10-12. If you don't have enough hens then almost any rooster will wear them out.

And with that ratio as an idea, you can see that there are really job positions for a mere 10% of all roosters that hatch. A good 90% of them have their purpose on a plate. It's just not worth the effort to keep a rooster around unless he's in the top 10% of his class for manners, behavior & looks.

 

[gckiddhouse]

Quote:
Ooooh! That was really well said.

A quote worth keeping.

 

[ace6175]

It looks like the rooster is going to freezer camp!
Then I won't need a saddle. The only downside is non-fertile eggs. But I can trade with my neighbor who has a rooster if any of my hens go broody.
Thanks for the comments - hard to get rid of him, as he isn't at all aggressive towards people and I raised him (was supposed to be a pullet). But my hens are more important!

 

[MamaJohnson]

Why not just separate him from the flock and only allow him access to the girls for a limited period each day? The damage will not necessarily be completely eliminated, but will definately be less!

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

Gone...there are too many great roosters looking for good homes to tolerate one that is mean to the hens. I don't care what the ratio is. They have more jobs than just breeding.

I'm usually very tolerant of most animal behaviors, but this is one thing I won't tolerate. Eat him. It's the kindest thing you can do unless you can rehome him with a huge flock of hens.