This animal is not a hen

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New to the sticks

Chirping
Dec 16, 2021
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So we are really new to chickens (the previous home owners were going to rehome them and we said we could keep them.) One was a couple months old maybe and they thought it was female. Long story short, it started crowing the other day.

Questions:

I hear roosters can get aggressive. Seems fine and my 5 year old even hand feeds him out of a little cup...is there a point I should worry?

The hens pick on him and chase him off. Someone is laying her eggs on the floor of the coop (why?) Noticed a couple times recently that an egg that was there suddenly wasn't when I returned later in the day. Fresh shell on the coop floor this morning. Can't figure out who is egg-eating. Is this why they dont like rooster?

Went from 4-5 eggs a day to maybe one. They appear to be all different breeds and some (I've figured out) are moulting. Can't tell if they arent laying or if other eggs are being eaten.

Nighttime temps are 34 degrees recently. I've heard no need for heat lamp but I feel bad for them.

Any advice is welcome! Crash course in backyard chickens!

Not a hen, pictured below. 🤦‍♀️
 

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Welcome to BYC! Glad you joined us! I guess "NotAHen" above has started crowing? Any idea how old he is? Usually somewhere between four and six months, in my experience, is when you MIGHT start seeing aggression, if you're going to. Personally, with a child that young, I wouldn't let him be around the chickens without supervision at all. But that's just me.

If you know you have an egg-eater, which may or may not be a chicken (do you have squirrels? Dogs? Snakes?), it would be a good idea to pick up any eggs as soon as you see them. Stick it in your pocket.

As for cold weather, unless they get wet, chickens typically handle cold weather by fluffing up their feathers and huddling together. Keep them dry and out of the wind, and provide adequate ventilation and they should do just fine.

Something just occurred to me. If your son feeds the rooster out of a cup, there may come a time when the rooster chases him, looking for goodies. This may scare your kid. If your kid runs from the rooster, the roo may get in the habit of chasing and becoming more aggressive, if you see what I mean. Just something to think about.

If you can post pictures of your coop and nest boxes, some here may be able to help figure out why a hen is laying on the floor. Good luck!
 
New to the sticks said:
So we are really new to chickens (the previous home owners were going to rehome them and we said we could keep them.) One was a couple months old maybe and they thought it was female. Long story short, it started crowing the other day.

Questions:

I hear roosters can get aggressive. Seems fine and my 5 year old even hand feeds him out of a little cup...is there a point I should worry?

The hens pick on him and chase him off. Someone is laying her eggs on the floor of the coop (why?) Noticed a couple times recently that an egg that was there suddenly wasn't when I returned later in the day. Fresh shell on the coop floor this morning. Can't figure out who is egg-eating. Is this why they dont like rooster?

Went from 4-5 eggs a day to maybe one. They appear to be all different breeds and some (I've figured out) are moulting. Can't tell if they arent laying or if other eggs are being eaten.

Nighttime temps are 34 degrees recently. I've heard no need for heat lamp but I feel bad for them.

Any advice is welcome! Crash course in backyard chickens!

Not a hen, pictured below. 🤦‍♀️
Click to expand...
Yup. That is a cockerel. He may or may not get aggressive. Definitely keep an eye out when your toddler is near him. As for the decrease in eggs, that may be because of the loss of daylight hours if you are in the northern hemisphere. Chickens generally need 14-16 hours of daylight to be consistently laying. Some young pullets may be an exception, but most do stop laying. Young, naive pullets may lay on the ground. You may want to put golf balls or fake eggs into the nest to attract them there. Assuming you have nesting boxes, you may need extra hay in the nesting boxes to make them more appealing to the pullets.

What do you feed?
 
Good morning, welcome to BYC.
Most chickens are opportunistic egg eaters; if it's on the floor, it gets pecked. As stated above, encourage laying in the nests with fake eggs. Be sure to gather your eggs at least once a day, pick any off the floor immediately, and you probably won't have a problem.
As for the cockrel, give him the benefit of a doubt. I've had many roosters and cockrels, only one showed any tendency to attack, he calmed down with training and turned out to be a great rooster.
I wouldn't let any child be around any rooster without close supervision. I think fear brings on attacks, so @BigBlueHen53 has a point about feeding snacks and teaching the child not to run from him. I've always raised my cockrels as pets, just as I've raised my pullets. The cockrels are usually tamer and less skittish. Watch for challenges such as "herding" your child and "drop wing dancing" around him. If you see this, discourage the cockrel by picking him up, or walking toward him without hesitation.
Good luck, and congratulations on your new home, and your new flock!
 
You are already getting some great advice about curbing egg eating and about the frequency of egg laying in winter, as well as how well chickens handle the cold.

Regarding your rooster, I have one splendid mature rooster who is not people aggressive in the least.

My newer little boy is less than a year old and recently decided that he not only doesn't like the white feed scoop (birds sometimes develop what appear to be irrational reactions to objects or colors), he isn't sure he likes me either.

He occasionally decides to run at me. Fortunately, he is a Bantam boy and is easily subdued. I pick him up and carry him around for a while until he settles down. Later, he will be fine and walk up with the girls for treats without incidence.

In other words, sometimes roosters are fine, sometimes they are not. Every one of them is different, and I would suggest keeping a close eye on the relationship between your little one and the roo. When I was a child, my family had two Bantam roosters who delighted in attacking me with their little spurs. My folks left me to fend for myself with these two, and we all survived.

As you have already learned, there are plenty of people on BYC who are willing and happy to offer advice. Whatever happens with your rooster, know that someone here will be available to help you.

Welcome to our flock!
 

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