When to get rid of rooster

[Larry in Hawaii]

We have 4 grown hens and one rooster (and in a near run and coop 16 chicks) and the ro is starting to pick on the hens. They have been together about a year and I was wondering would there be a problem with the hens if I get rid of the ro?

 

[JJSS89]

"Pick on them" how?

 

[cavemanrich]

Hens be happy that roo wont bother them anymore. You do need a rooster if you want fertile eggs. There are just as many people favoring roosters as there are against roosters. I don't have one... don't need one... don't want problems associated with one... ( I'm a city slicker.) roosters make noise that is not appreciated by neighbors...

WISHING YOU BEST

 

[Larry in Hawaii]

Maybe picking on the hens is the wrong term. The ro is just doing what they all do...chasing the hens all over the run way to much. He picks on the hens allot of the time and the hens try to hide from him. I sure don't want this going on when I add the 16 new chicks to the run.

 

[cavemanrich]

If you will have 20 chickens then maybe your rooster will be calm and feel like the Knight in the coin

 

[aart]

Has the roo always chased the hens too much...or just recently?

How old are the chicks and are there any males amongst them?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

No, there won't be any problems with the hens if the rooster is removed, so if that is the route you want to go, do so. If, though, you wanted to keep a rooster in your flock there may be things that can be done to make everyone (fowl and human) happier with the situation, so if that is something you want to hear about say the word.

 

[JJSS89]

lots of positives concerning flock hierarchy with a rooster around.

 

[Larry in Hawaii]

Getting rid of the rooster is not something we really want to do unless we have to. He is about 1 1/2 yrs. and it seems the older he gets he just get more cranky. He is the only male we have in the group. I have had 3 roosters in the past that we had to get rid of because they really caused problems with the hens. They picked on the hens all the time enough so they were not laying. I don't kill them, I release them onto a friends 5000 acre ranch....and if this one keeps acting up he may end up in the same place.

I know males being males, have one thing on their minds, but when they start hurting the hens and making them try to hide from him, he has gone to far. He is the reason I have the 2 month old chicks in different run right next door.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Getting rid of the rooster is not something we really want to do unless we have to. He is about 1 1/2 yrs. and it seems the older he gets he just get more cranky. He is the only male we have in the group. I have had 3 roosters in the past that we had to get rid of because they really caused problems with the hens. They picked on the hens all the time enough so they were not laying. I don't kill them, I release them onto a friends 5000 acre ranch....and if this one keeps acting up he may end up in the same place.

I know males being males, have one thing on their minds, but when they start hurting the hens and making them try to hide from him, he has gone to far. He is the reason I have the 2 month old chicks in different run right next door.

While that may make you feel better about the whole thing, in the long run you are actually not doing the birds any favors at all --- providing a quick, clean and humane death at your hands is kinder than turning a domestic animal, who has learned dependence on humans, into the wild to be predated. What size of an area is the flock in now and what size will the area be when your flock grows significantly with the integration of the new birds?