serama cockerel behaviour - please respond

chicmom said:

Hello there!

Unfortunately, sometimes when a rooster reaches maturity, all those hormones are just raging, and their behavior changes. What you're seeing is pretty normal rooster behavior.

Roosters can be pretty hard on the hens. It's a very good idea if you have space and can get your rooster a few more hens. That way, all his focus won't be on this one female. Often, roosters will pick a favorite, and that can make a hen look pretty raggedy. Sometimes they lose alot of back feathers.

Also, not alway, but roosters can become very mean once they reach maturity. I've had a few mean roosters myself. It's not fun. I used to have one rooster who could constantly attack me. I carried a rolled up newspaper in my back pocket incase I needed to defend myself.

Take care and I hope everything works out with your rooster....They are beautiful.

Sharon

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scratch'n'peck said:

This is not unusual behavior when the male hormones start increasing with maturity. If you have the room, it wouldn't hurt to get another hen perhaps. As the two get older, she will likely become more accepting of his advances and will become a bit less frisky.

Some cockerels who get lots of human handling can become rude once the male hormones develop. They have no fear or respect of people and get defensive with seemingly little provocation. This is less likely to happen with really mellow breeds like Silkies. My Orpingtons and Cochins never acted like that either. But some of my game roosters who had hens and where handled a lot as chicks became kickers.

This thread has some ideas on how to teach a rooster to respect boundaries: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...aining-an-aggressive-rooster/90#post_13293443

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