My beautiful bantam Mille Fleur Cochin rooster has a serious attitude problem! He is sooo sweet to me and the kids, but can't figure out how to be a gentleman with the ladies. After he was done with my favorite hen she was dripping blood from her head and staggering around. I brought her in and treated her wounds and spoiled her a bit and today she seems much better. All of my bantam girls combs look like they've been attacked by a roto-tiller. I am thinking I should throw him in with the big girls to teach him some manners. Maybe they will knock the snot out of him for a while and put him in his place?? I had thought maybe trimming his beak blunt would help but then it might just be like getting hit with a sledge hammer. I am hoping he will not be headed to "freezer camp" but this cannot be allowed to continue. Any other ideas other out there?? I should add...he is only 7 months old. Is there a chance he will settle down? I don't know if my girls would live through it :(
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Just to let everyone know how my rooster situation turned out.....
Initially I put him in with my big girls, well that worked for a while then my Welsummer hens started to look chewed up and spit out and everyone was stressed. So I contacted some friends at local farm and they were more than happy to help out and process him for me. Well, I got him there and lo and behold, they loved him!! He is in with about 70 free ranging hens and he is loving it! He has a new gig and I'm sure he is soooo much happier. So many good people out there...it restores the soul :)
I like your spirit. I don't know if throwing him in with the big girls is the answer, because I really don't know. But I love the idea. You could probably sell tickets to that one and make some of your feed money back:)
Thanks for the moral support ladies. All of our chickens are pets/producers as well. I realize what direction this is possibly headed :( I will let this go with him separated from the cochin girls for a while longer & see how it goes.I will not allow the majority of the population to be terrorized. Life's too short( shorter for some chickens than others :) Maybe getting together and sharing our favorite "roo recipies" would help lighten the mood. I need to find my "food producer" perspective and ditch the pet owner hat for a while.
My poor Dorris (my son named her this after my 91 year old grandmother). Her crop is the size of a softball and yes, she still has the same poo issue, you definitely know where she's been roosting! Watching her is hilarious as she runs toward you with her huge crop swinging from side to side, but other than the above mentioned issues, she seems right as rain. I feel like I should make her some kind of sling for that thing, but she eats, lays & acts just fine???? I'd have to go with "weird EE thing". Sounds like your girls have the same M.O. They're great birds but I don't think I could keep up with coop maintenance if I had more than 2 :) And as far as that pet owner "hat" goes, I don't know if I can get it off ......luckily my neighbor is farm girl. I just spent way too much money having my new doelings broken leg set and cast, I'm hopeless!
Replies
Just to let everyone know how my rooster situation turned out.....
Initially I put him in with my big girls, well that worked for a while then my Welsummer hens started to look chewed up and spit out and everyone was stressed. So I contacted some friends at local farm and they were more than happy to help out and process him for me. Well, I got him there and lo and behold, they loved him!! He is in with about 70 free ranging hens and he is loving it! He has a new gig and I'm sure he is soooo much happier. So many good people out there...it restores the soul :)
Carrie
Carrie,
I like your spirit. I don't know if throwing him in with the big girls is the answer, because I really don't know. But I love the idea. You could probably sell tickets to that one and make some of your feed money back:)
Let us know how you end up handling it.
My poor Dorris (my son named her this after my 91 year old grandmother). Her crop is the size of a softball and yes, she still has the same poo issue, you definitely know where she's been roosting! Watching her is hilarious as she runs toward you with her huge crop swinging from side to side, but other than the above mentioned issues, she seems right as rain. I feel like I should make her some kind of sling for that thing, but she eats, lays & acts just fine???? I'd have to go with "weird EE thing". Sounds like your girls have the same M.O. They're great birds but I don't think I could keep up with coop maintenance if I had more than 2 :) And as far as that pet owner "hat" goes, I don't know if I can get it off ......luckily my neighbor is farm girl. I just spent way too much money having my new doelings broken leg set and cast, I'm hopeless!