Grim and Grievous Goings-On

I had to open a Chicken Infirmary today.  I was very distraught to have to do so, but glad to know Honey had the "makings" for such an establishment in the other barn.   If you've read "Gang Bang In the Hen House" (April 2010) then you will understand what my poor hens are having to deal with. 

Well, last night, one of my 'girls' was brutally attacked, right in front of me!!  I pushed the offending rooster out of the way, to allow her to get up, and she just lay there, not even attempting to get up.  I was quite upset!!  I gently picked her up & held her.  I talked to her for a bit till she came out of the daze she seemed to be in.  Once she seemed coherent again, I carefully placed her on the topmost rung of the roost.  I thought things were gonna be ok; NOT SO!!

Today, when I went to the barn to turn the chickens out for the day, this same poor hen was again viciously & brutally attacked.  This time was worse than before.  Not only did she make no attempt to get up.....she rolled over onto her side; closed her eyes; curled her little feet up, and went completely still.  She didn't appear to be breathing.....and I truly believed she had died!!  I picked her up to pet her & see if she was dead.  She hung limp and lifeless in my hands, but was still breathing. THANK GOD! 

I immediately found a portable wire pen  large enough to house her....a small water bottle.....and some feed.   I filled one end with straw & placed her inside.  I then covered three sides and the top with old feed bags, to give her some privacy and allow her to rest peacefully.  (Honey tells me they don't need privacy....they just need to be left alone and allowed to recover.  I think Honey finds my country ignorance very humorous!)  I've placed  the Chicken Infirmary on the opposite side of the barn from the coop so it will be somewhat more quiet for her.  The wire pen is up on top of some hay bales to keep her off the ground. She seemed to be doing a little better when I last checked on her.  She had taken a good long nap and had turned herself around in the pen to get more comfortable.  I think, with some rest & solitude, she'll recover.  Physically anyway.  God only knows what sort of emotional scars she may have now!  

Most of my 'girls' are bedraggled & disheveled looking. Very few of them still have any tail feathers to speak of, and some don't even have feathers on their lower backs any longer, due to the constant mating attacks from the roosters!  Bottom line here is......I HAVE TOO MANY ROOSTERS!!

I'm researching again, online, and have taken a 'consensus' of all the articles I've read.  Seems that a HEALTHY ratio is ONE ROOSTER FOR EVERY 25-30 HENS!!!!  My God!  No wonder my 'girls' are over-wrought!!!   I have 18 hens and FIVE ROOSTERS!!!!! Something's gotta give here, folks!!  But what???  How do you find new homes for adult roosters??  And if you DID find new homes.....try catching the suckers!! THEY'RE FAST AS GREASED LIGHTNING!  And, how do I decide who goes & who stays??  I'm so attached to them....well....FOUR of them, anyway.  I'm not real attached to Milton (see "Chicken Cross-dressers?" 03/20/10 for clarification)  HE could go & I wouldn't really miss him.  He's kinda weird, anyway, and can't crow very good.  He's also the most brutal of the five when he decides to "visit" the girls. 

Buddy is just that.....my little buddy!  He was the first roo to let me pet him.  He & I have a rapport.  He sings to me when I close up the coop at night!  I can't get rid of HIM. :(

Then there's Kellogg.  He's "king of the coop", and the head roo in charge.  He comes to greet me every night when I enter the barn to close up the coop.  His "second in command", Hot Shot, is always at his side. 
The two of them go everywhere together.  I can't let either of them go to another home!! 

Last.....but not least....is Bart.  He's a GORGEOUS white Delaware with black tipped wings & tail.  He was the only yellow chick in the bunch when I got my first chicks from the breeder.  I, at first, called him "Goldie"...not knowing he was a HE.  He's forgiven me for that.....admitting that it IS very difficult for humans to know the difference between males & females when the chicks are so young.   I renamed him Bart after the little guy on the cartoon "The Simpsons", because he acts just like that kid!!  He & I understand each other.  I simply cannot get rid of HIM!! 

Geez!  You see my dilemma??  Maybe I should just get some more hens?  But my coop isn't big enough to house very many more.  I'm concerned NOW, wondering how many of my new baby chicks will turn out to be roosters??!  Where does it end??  I can see this situation getting WA-A-A-A-AY out of hand in a short period of time! 

Honey says he doesn't see a problem, and mentioned Hot Wings and BBQ chicken!  I may have to "re-think" my earlier views on why he bought me the new automatic incubator!  Was it REALLY just to insure a steady supply of Hot Wings & BBQ chicken?????
Surely not!!?