My Cockerel

I have 6 hens and over the past couple months I've been introducing a cockerel. It's been going fine but when ever a hen comes mear him, he freaks outs and flys on top of the roof of the coop and won't come down. When he doesn't freak out the hens don't care about him, only when he freals do the hens peck him. Is there a way I can make him not flip out? And he only attacks the 160 pound human (me) but not a 12 pound hen! Is flighty behavior normal with cockerels?

I wouldn't say that it is "normal", but some cockerels are just flighty. By nature, cockerels are more cautious than hens and more alert for danger. How old is the cockerel? Young cockerels are often frightened of hens, but as they get older, they become less afraid and more dominant. Eventually, he'll be dominant over the hens and not afraid of them. I'd continue slowly introducing him to the flock, and letting him see and be with the hens each day. Hopefully, he'll start realizing that he is a cockerel and therefore dominant.

He attacks you? Why on earth are you trying to integrate him into your flock? What is the purpose of an animal that attacks you? Get rid of him and choose another bird.

donrae said:

He attacks you? Why on earth are you trying to integrate him into your flock? What is the purpose of an animal that attacks you? Get rid of him and choose another bird.

Click to expand...

X2!

Is it possible that he is blind in one or both eyes? Abnormal flighty behavior could be a sign that he cannot see very well and therefore senses danger with every movement that he is able to notice.

We had a pullet like that.

Maybe, his eyes appear to be normal, how would I check for blindness in an eye of a chicken?

BarredRocks3 said:

Maybe, his eyes appear to be normal, how would I check for blindness in an eye of a chicken?

Click to expand...

would it really matter? He's still attacked you. And why would you keep a visually impaired rooster? He wouldn't be good for predator alarms and you wouldn't want to breed him, so what would his purpose be?

I keep him because I believe that all animals deserve a chance. I would not want to see him in someone else's freezer! The man I got him from told me that he does not like people so I knew the problems that would come. He's very small, he can't hurt me, and the only reason I said something about the attack was because he'll go after me and not a hen that's ten times smaller then me. Why the heck do you doubt my choices! You don't even know me!

How interesting he's afraid of the hens but not you. What breed of rooster is this? How much room do you have to introduce him to the hens. If he's feeling claustrophobic, he might be over reacting because he feels he's trapped.

This method worked well for me:



Once after quarantine, I placed the rooster behind a protective barrier to allow the flock to get used to him. Note the chicken wire to prevent the hens from reaching through and getting to him. The chicken wire was also secured across the top of the portable pen.

Once everybody seemed adjusted, I allowed supervised visits that eventually extended to full time cohabitation.

While keeping an aggressive rooster is a challenge, you can earn the grudging respect of the rooster. But don't turn your back. He'll get you. And if you have small children he'll attack them, too. Aggressiveness is inherited, and his male offspring will be aggressive. Finding a good rooster is difficult and some folks put up with aggressive behavior. Some don't. Especially folks with children.

Give your rooster time. While he may never consider you his friend, he should eventually assume his roosterly duties. Watch him, though, as flighty roosters can sometime brutalize the hens. If this is the case, cull him. He doesn't have to be nice to you, but he needs to be good to the hens.

Good luck with him!

I agree about getting rid of him, but since you've made your mind, let's skip over all that.

Age and breed may be huge factors here. But he may also just be a loose canon. Is he really young? Is he a flighty breed?


ETA: I wish you were in Texas. I've got 5 mix-breed cockerels that I need to do something with and they will be GOOD natured birds. I'd do an even swap as long as there were no questions asked (because I eat whatever birds I can't use in the henhouse).