Will removing my rooster upset my hens?

[EmilyRae]

Hi everyone,

I am rehoming my guy Scooter this week, and I am worried that my hens are going to be upset.. is that common? and if so, is there anyway I can mitigate it? The ladies are also moving to a new coop and new yard this week. Any thoughts would be great thanks!

 

[scratch'n'peck]

Any changes like that will upset the pecking order and cause some stress. Chickens certainly are creatures of habit. Your hens will probably find it more upsetting moving to a new coop than saying good by to Scooter , but it is good to have both changes at once so the pecking order only has to be reestablished once. I don't know that there is any way to reduce the upset other than giving them time. Hopefully they will get used to roosting in their new coop soon.

 

[chickenbythesea]

mine weren't bothered one bit and actually picked up egg production.

 

[Farmerwithasundress]

Hi everyone. I just had to give away my 3 roosters & keep the 2 hens. It was a bad ratio, and my hens seem sad & are calling for their roosters. We will be getting 4 new hens in a few days & I hope that will make them happy. Has Anyone been through this scenario? Or have some advice to make the transition easier for all?
Thanks

 

[aart]

Hi everyone. I just had to give away my 3 roosters & keep the 2 hens. It was a bad ratio, and my hens seem sad & are calling for their roosters. We will be getting 4 new hens in a few days & I hope that will make them happy. Has Anyone been through this scenario? Or have some advice to make the transition easier for all?
Thanks

@Farmerwithasundress chickens don't like any change, but they can get used to it.
Adding more birds will probably cause even more disruption.

Here some tips abut integration:
Integration of new chickens into flock.
Consider biological/medical quarantine:
BYC Medical Quarantine Article


Integration Basics:

It's all about territory and resources(space/food/water).
Existing birds will almost always attack new ones to defend their resources.
Understanding chicken behaviors is essential to integrating new birds into your flock.

Confine new birds within sight but physically segregated from older/existing birds for several weeks, so they can see and get used to each other but not physically interact.

In adjacent runs, spread scratch grains along the dividing mesh, best if mesh is just big enough for birds to stick their head thru, so they get used to eating together.

The more space, the better. Birds will peck to establish dominance, the pecked bird needs space to get away. As long as there's no copious blood drawn and/or new bird is not trapped/pinned down and beaten unmercilessly, let them work it out. Every time you interfere or remove new birds, they'll have to start the pecking order thing all over again.

Multiple feed/water stations. Dominance issues are most often carried out over sustenance, more stations lessens the frequency of that issue.

Places for the new birds to hide 'out of line of sight'(but not a dead end trap) and/or up and away from any bully birds. Roosts, pallets or boards leaned up against walls or up on concrete blocks, old chairs tables, branches, logs, stumps out in the run can really help. Lots of diversion and places to 'hide' instead of bare wide open run.

Good ideas for hiding places:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/

 

[TaylorGlade]

Hi everyone,

I am rehoming my guy Scooter this week, and I am worried that my hens are going to be upset.. is that common? and if so, is there anyway I can mitigate it? The ladies are also moving to a new coop and new yard this week. Any thoughts would be great thanks!

My hens were upset. I had 10 Australorp and 2 Amerecauna. 1 amerecaua and 8 Australorp turned out to be roosters that I had to rehome. My girls didn't leave the co-op for almost a week. I had to bring food and water to them. However, not all chickens react like that.ost don't seem to notice. However, my girls went from a flock of 12 to a flock of three. It was a pretty major change for them - not just one flock mate