This spring I had chick fever really bad. So I took eggs from one of my Silkie hens and put eggs under all of my broody hens. When they hatched I had 13 adorable, yellow silkie babies. I had all of my trauma from skunks and snakes and I would have braved a lion for them... Until last Monday. I will just give you a heads up, this isn't a story for the faint hearted.
. I had eight roosters ( new ones) and six hens. I had to put the little rooters in the big coop with the big hens because they were becoming too roostery. My rooster that is the father of them all is not very aggressive but his sons were and they were beating up their father and their mothers. There was constant fighting and crowing and it was utter pandemonium. I was waking up every morning thinking of ways to kill roosters. I was depressed every single day.
Ron had been working on the new chicken house and they hadn't been out of the coop in days. On Monday I thought maybe they would be nice if I let them out for a little bit. That was when the trouble started. I have two Mlle Fluers who are much smaller than these roosters and as soon as I let them out in the yard that gang of eight attacked one of my hens. I kid you not, they surrounded her and were cheering each other on. I was sick. I grabbed a board and tried to break it up. There was no breaking it up, my poor little hen was I thought almost dead. I chased them away but they went to the next older Mille Fluer hen and started all over. I chased them and they were just out of control. I put the little hens in their coops and went into the house to call someone so I could give them away. I didn't let my mind think of what that might be.
I got rid of them. All eight. I still have my black and my white rooster but I will not have any more chicks that are straight run. Next time I get chicks it will be just hens. I have learned my lesson. I told the other roosters that if they get smart with me they will be next. It has been a peaceful week out in the chicken yard. I even like watching them again. It is nice not plotting murder and mayhem each morning before my first cup of coffee. I have sharpened our little hatched in my mind so many times but I really don't think I could ever do that, well unless we were starving then I think I could.
Such is my saga, now you know why there have been no chicken posts. I was really wondering why I had ever decided to get chickens in the first place. But now, that peace reigns again. I am happy I have them and my new chicks are starting to lay eggs and they are just adorable to watch. Just like a little school yard of little girls.
I hope you have a lovely Wednesday, thank you for visiting me today.
~Kim~
20 comments:
I'm glad you got rid of them. It would have only been a matter of time before all 8 of them started attacking you when you went to feed, and that would have been really bad. What if they knocked you down and got your eyes?
And aren't you so glad it's October? :-)
Wow, that was quite a story. Mob rule in the chicken yard. Too much maleness going on I guess. I've heard the same thing about billy goats. You can't turn your back on them and the wreak havoc with all the other goats. I have no idea if it's true, but I read it years ago and never forgot it.
Oh my, I never knew that roosters could be so vicious. I'm glad you have peace again.
That is a terrible story but I have to admit I laughed out loud when I read "they were becoming too roostery". Glad peace has returned to the flock
Too many roosters does throw quite a big bad curve ( or ~um .. hatchet ..lol) on a happy flock.
Glad you are enjoying your chickens again.
I am glad you got rid of the roosters.
Barbara Kingsolver wrote of how she solved her "excess rooster" problem. They were simply the "stars" for the rotisserie!:-) Several neighbors were invited to the event.
It is wonderful that you were able to find a way to clear those roosters from your flock. They were just up to no good!
xo Nellie
We have people bring theirs to the feed store to give away or sell.
I have a couple I would like to eliminate.
lordy! sounds brutal - like when we had ducks and they'd get to chasing hens. ugh!
We had to many roosters as well had to downsize...straight to my freezer they went...then the one that was left was great except for his continious crowing at all hours. I would wake at 3:30am reporting to my hubby that one of these mornings he was going to end up on the days menu...luckily my boss saved his fanny and took him and the hens to his coop. Would not have let the hens go except that we are moving 1200 miles dont think they would have traveled well on top of the car. Thinking it would have ruffled some feathers!
I still can't believe you had such a nasty gang of chicken bandits. Well at least they are gone now. It's ok, I plot murder for the dog every day. She is driving me crazy, she scratches and hurts the kids way too much for my comfort I just don't think we can keep her. :(
ohhhhh, you poor thing. How traumatic for you! Happy that you solved the problem, though and that you are, once again, thankful for your chickens. xo
Oh dear! I definitely think you did the right thing. We have had to cull a few here and there. This year I have a new batch of chickens - oh the eggs are wonderful, but this flock is much more aggressive than the last group we had. They are always after each other; many are missing tail feathers and have a bare spot on their backs. I am sad about this.
So sorry to hear that they were giving you too much grief.
I hope you can enjoy them again I really love the silkies.
Now that the dust and the feathers have settled in your chicken kingdom I hope that all will be well for a while. I agree that you did the right thing to get rid of them. I wonder what it says in the rooster Bible , lol. Better to become a roasted rooster than a murderer rooster,lol.
I saw a few chicken raising magazines at our Coop, I can't remember what they were called but I thought of you. There were some beautiful chickens in there.
I hope that you are enjoying today.
Hugs,
JB
Oh boy, you certainly have had a rodeo around there!
So glad that peace is once again reigning on the farm.
Living in the country, there are always "wild" chickens running around. People get tired of them, and "gift" them to some neighboring farm.
Hope today is a good one.
K.
What a 3 ring circus! Glad it's under control and you can enjoy them again... egg salad sandwiches for now, not chicken pot pies! :)
chickens are vicious, I'm not sure I have the heart to have chickens.
I just skimmed this one. When you said it wasn't for the faint of heart, I knew better than to read it word for word. I'm not sure I want chickens as much as I used to. That's for sure!
Wow! Such drama! I'm glad you got rid of those boys. You've got to do that sometimes, that's life on a farm. And you found homes, that's awesome!
We ALWAYS have this problem. Earlier this year we got a batch of 10 chicks that were supposed to be all pullets, but somehow 1 turned into a rooster. He grew up huge and tall and had to go. He became the lead rooster at a friend's farm. It was NICE to have all the others be girls. We get lots of eggs from those ladies.
Also this summer Randy hatched a batch of our own eggs and only 4 actually hatched so I ran to the farmers market and got 6 straight runs. And now I think we have 6 baby roos from the batch of 10 chicks. I love them all and got attached to them. So far they aren't bad - they just started crowing. But I know we are going to have a problem! 6 new roosters is not a good thing. :( I should find a home now, but I don't want to get rid of them!!! They are so friendly and love to be held and still peep like chicks and love to be cuddled. Ugh, life on a farm is rough sometimes.
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