We started our flock 12 years ago, with 27 one day old chicks (McMurray), turned out 7 were roosters. They are all gone now, except one hen (yes, we have a 12-year old hen still in great health). We have replaced hens over the years and currently have 22. We adopted a bantam rooster (from a defunct farm) and another Americana rooster (now 3 years old) that had been hand-raised by a young girl who snuck a farmer's market egg into her room and hatched it. We call him "BB" (short for Big Boy) due to his size. We love him, he is smart, non-aggressive, and very protective of the girls, and BIG. We haven't had one hawk attack since we've added him to the flock.
Last Spring we allowed a hen to sit on eggs (first time for us). Only one hatched, and, of course, it was a rooster. By the time he was 6 months old, he was double daddy's size. "GG" (Gentle Giant) was also very calm, non-aggressive, and our only concern was his size and his immature youth, that he might harm the hens mounting them, as he is relentless in this regard. But the real problem came when his dad, BB, developed severe bumblefoot over the holidays (my posts began 1/2/20 on this topic). Two months later he is mostly recovered, although a little unsteady and we still keep bandages on his scabbed feet, but we have reintroduced him to his flock. In the 2-months of his absence, GG decided it was his flock has attacked his dad every time we try to bring him back.
My bright idea was to separate and cage GG for a couple of weeks and try to calm him down, allowing BB to acclimate back. When we decided to try a reunion yesterday, we even bandaged his feet to try to level the playing field. It didn't seem to slow him down at all and he immediately tried to kill our small bantam rooster, who got in the way of his assault on dad.
We are wondering if there are any tricks that we can try, any herbs we can add to his water, etc. to try to reset his attitude. We appreciate any ideas. Please note that we do not kill or eat our chickens, they are all named pets/family.
Last Spring we allowed a hen to sit on eggs (first time for us). Only one hatched, and, of course, it was a rooster. By the time he was 6 months old, he was double daddy's size. "GG" (Gentle Giant) was also very calm, non-aggressive, and our only concern was his size and his immature youth, that he might harm the hens mounting them, as he is relentless in this regard. But the real problem came when his dad, BB, developed severe bumblefoot over the holidays (my posts began 1/2/20 on this topic). Two months later he is mostly recovered, although a little unsteady and we still keep bandages on his scabbed feet, but we have reintroduced him to his flock. In the 2-months of his absence, GG decided it was his flock has attacked his dad every time we try to bring him back.
My bright idea was to separate and cage GG for a couple of weeks and try to calm him down, allowing BB to acclimate back. When we decided to try a reunion yesterday, we even bandaged his feet to try to level the playing field. It didn't seem to slow him down at all and he immediately tried to kill our small bantam rooster, who got in the way of his assault on dad.
We are wondering if there are any tricks that we can try, any herbs we can add to his water, etc. to try to reset his attitude. We appreciate any ideas. Please note that we do not kill or eat our chickens, they are all named pets/family.
