- Feb 23, 2014
- 37
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Hi all. I started my current flock in August 2019, and had the second generation hatch in May, so they are just about 6 months old now. There are 27 chickies in my flock now. I've had to get rid of all of my 1st generation roosters because they all turned mean. There are 5 boys in the 2nd generation. One in particular, Billy, is a really sweet boy who seems to be at the bottom of the pecking order. I've been opening up the coop in the morning to find him cowering behind the trash can I keep the food in, scared to come out. When I toss out a handful of treats for the flock, if other chickens get close to it, Billy will stop running toward it and just let everyone else eat it all. Today it was pouring rain, and Billy refused to go into the shelter of the barn with the other chickens, and just stood outside soaking wet, looking longingly into the barn, but wouldn't come in, even when I tempted him with treats. One of the other boys, Big Boy, is a little aggressive toward the other boys, although he seems to be quite the gentleman for the girls - calls them for food, dances for them before he mates, etc. I'm sure he is bullying Billy and another one of the boys (who sometimes has bruises on his comb). 5 roosters for 22 hens is excessive, so I'm going to cull 2 of them once they get a little more meat on them. Since Big Boy and Billy do NOT get along, and I don't want to build a second coop, I have to decide which one of them to keep. My friend told me I should just put Billy out of his misery, because he'll just continue to be bullied. But he is the type of gentle rooster I would like to have in my flock, but I am also concerned that if I cull Big Boy, one or more of the other boys might continue to bully Billy.
Does anyone have any words of wisdom about the best way to go? I don't have a lot of experience with keeping more than 2 roosters together, or the pecking order effects of eliminating a top-ranking rooster. In the past I just kept building more coops and giving each rooster his own flock!!
Does anyone have any words of wisdom about the best way to go? I don't have a lot of experience with keeping more than 2 roosters together, or the pecking order effects of eliminating a top-ranking rooster. In the past I just kept building more coops and giving each rooster his own flock!!