Quinnm
Hatching
- May 3, 2024
- 2
- 0
- 7
I desperately need advice. I have too many roosters for the hens we have because the flock of hens that was given to us by the previous owners of our house is starting to go from old age. We have two Roos and 3 hens right now. I already have some chicks this spring to up the hen count, and the roos were separated all winter in their own coop with the runs were right next to each other so they could get acclimated, but the roosters are still just picking on one leghorn in particular. Her poor comb is so beat up and bloody now, and last year before we separated them we had to quarantine her and treat her for two weeks because they got her so badly her head was all but wide open. From what it looks like the two roosters left still consider themselves their own flock. The past week we have been allowing them to free range together since the Roos still go to their own coop at night, and all was fine for the first few days, but just yesterday they decided to pick on the one leghorn again. It got worse today to the point where the hen was hiding, and all three of them spent most of the day in the coop because the roosters would bully them for coming out. Yesterday I finally saw our largest hen actually submit to one of the roosters and let him mount. He wasn’t too aggressive or anything, so we left him in the coop with the ladies and the other roo went to his coop last night. Everything was fine overnight and this morning, but it looks like the Roos refuse to let the hens leave the coop to free range. Two won’t even go into the run unless I’m in there with them, but the one leghorn they pick on doesn’t listen, she went into the yard and doesn’t get mounted at all she just gets attacked. I separated the hens again completely but I hate having to leave them in their run when they were here first. Any advice at all would be appreciated. I’d really like to keep at least one rooster, but I really don’t want to wake up to a dead hen. The roosters get along fine by the way, they have definitely established who is in charge and they sleep together given the choice.