Thank you! We got it online, and was designed to be a teenager-proof way of ensuring the eggs that were the oldest were eaten first. What does my 17-year old daughter do? Eat the ones at the top because she said getting them from the bottom was stupid!
You're totally right. I've been hoping he'd grow out of it, but he's not yet. I'm going to keep a very keen eye on him.
Why do we need him? Well, we're in a rural area with quite a lot of predators, and I've seen him chase off cats with ease. He does protect them, but yes, I don't like the way he treats them.
Good idea. I had a suspicion it was that, and I'd already thought about trying to set up a pen tomorrow for her. It's raining heavily and dark, so now they're roosting I hope things will be okay. As for the warning about scabs? Taken very seriously. I had wondered about a saddle apron, but separation makes more sense.
In regard to over mating - do you think he caused the wound when trying to mate? It looks about right place-wise for a spur-wound.
I would honestly swap him out in a heartbeat. I was worried that perhaps I had too few hens (six) for one rooster.
Honestly, it's protection that we're more concerned with than anything else. I had to treat him a few weeks ago after someone nipped at his wattle. I suspect he didn't take no for an answer.
We have a local place who will "help" him go on a permanent field trip - but maybe I can try and find someone else locally who would like him... and hope that I can find a more gentlemanly rooster as a replacement?
Nikki.
His spurs could have caused the injury especially if they are really long. You can remove the spurs by carefully twisting them off with a pair of pliers. It sounds medieval but it is necessary at times. Your rooster is not intentionally being mean to his hens he is just going by instinct. A good rooster to hen ratio is 1 to 10 or 12. Roosters have different personalities and temperaments just like people some are jerks and some are nice.
