Depressed rooster?

[My Bagurks]

I have a flock of 32 chickens. I currently have 5 roosters (I know, I know) but I am trying to downsize my flock. I put an ad up on a local website and sold two hens on Saturday. I will get the rooster to hen ratio correct soon, but wanted to give people that could use laying hens or roosters a chance before I process.

So I sold two hens and once they were loaded up in the woman’s car, I let my chickens out to free-range. No odd behavior that I noticed at the time, but when I closed the run up for the night and did a head head count, I was missing my alpha rooster Benito. I searched the property and couldn’t find any sign of him or any struggle. I assumed something had gotten him throughout the day. So the following morning I went down to feed and water and there was Benito out of the run in the old green house. Since I knew a predator didn’t get him, I let the chickens out for the day.

At sunset, I went down to lock them up and he is missing again. So I looked out the window and saw Benito standing in the middle of the yard in the rain. I walked down, right up to him and picked him up. I carried him and put him in the run. He didn’t fuss, kick, or struggle at all when I picked him up. I have picked him up a few times before but he fought every second. This time he just sat there and didn’t even make a noise. I looked him over, moved feathers and found zero sign of injury.

I’ve seen how stupid chickens can be, but I’ve also noticed a strange depth to them as well. I try not to anthropomorphize them but sometimes they seem to think and feel a lot more than I give them credit for.

Did I sell his favorite hen? Has anyone ever heard of or dealt with a depressed rooster? Two nights in a row he refused to go into the run at night. Is he looking for his hens?

Thoughts, opinions, anything welcome.

That’s Benito by the way.

 

[sourland]

He may be ill, or he may have been deposed by one of the other roosters.

 

[Battlepants]

I would probably address this with a medical approach rather than a social one. I feel like if he was looking for the hen, he would, you know, actually be moving around and looking.

When you picked him up, did you give his crop a feel? Has he been eating?

 

[My Bagurks]

When I put him in the run, the other eldest rooster Juan ram up to him and squared off, but they didn’t fight. They both just turned away from each other and Benito when over and started eating.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

If you did sell his favorite hen is issue is more than likely upheaval of the pecking order and he just lost his status. He is probably unwilling to go back into the coop because of a power struggle with him and the other roosters.

 

[Tflan10]

He may be ill, or he may have been deposed by one of the other roosters.

I’ve had a similar experience recently with a Rhode Island Red rooster. We have two roosters and he is/was the alpha. We found him bloody and hiding in the coop one night. We didn’t see the fight but we are pretty sure it was the other rooster. We quarantined him, cleaned his wounds and nursed him back to health in a few days. He seemed fine at first when we put him back in the coop with several hens (the other rooster is now in a separate coop). A day later we noticed that he is sitting down a lot, doesn’t stay near the girls, or act like hi normal strutting self. He was sitting in the yard in the wind and rain when all the others went into their run. Not sure what’s going on but what does “deposed” mean.

 

[Citychicken35]

I’ve had a similar experience recently with a Rhode Island Red rooster. We have two roosters and he is/was the alpha. We found him bloody and hiding in the coop one night. We didn’t see the fight but we are pretty sure it was the other rooster. We quarantined him, cleaned his wounds and nursed him back to health in a few days….Not sure what’s going on but what does “deposed” mean.

Deposed mean exactly what you described. Removed from his position. He no longer rules the roost.
I have a big old boy that got in a fight with a younger one yesterday, I had to put him in last night and he hid under the nests. Today I found him in a nest, bleeding like he was attacked again. I separated him into a small coop with food and water. He was sitting all day not eating or drinking. I’m worried that he may not make it.