Is rooster mating at three months normal?

[Ridgerunner]

My approximately 4 month old roo grabs the pullet’s neck feathers and tries to jump on. Usually they run squawking and the feathers just pop out….. tips?

Typical behaviors between consenting adults

1. The rooster drops a wing and circles a specific hen. This is called "dancing" and signals his intent.

2. The hen squats. This gets her body on the ground so the rooster's weight passes through her entire body and not just her legs. That's nature's way of protecting the hen since the rooster is usually larger than she is.

3. The rooster grabs the back of her head and hops on. The head grab helps him get into the correct position and keep his balance, but the major part is this is the hen's signal to raise her tail up out of the way so he can hit the target. Without the head grab there would be no fertile eggs because her tail would remain in the way.

4. The rooster hits the target and hops off. This may be over with in the blink of an eye or may take a few seconds but it is usually pretty quick.

5. The hen stands up, fluffs up and shakes. This fluffy shake gets the sperm in a container near where the egg starts its journey through her internal egg making factory.

Not all roosters dance. The better ones do. Not all hens immediately squat, some may try to run away. Sometimes the rooster lets them run, sometimes he chases them. They may squat if they see that he is chasing, they just wanted to see if he was really interested. They may get away. He may catch them and force them. As long as the hen squats she is unlikely to get hurt but anytime there is force there is some risk.

All this has nothing to do with yours since yours are not consenting adults. It is about domination. The one on top is trying to dominate the one on the bottom. It has nothing to do with fertilizing eggs, the cockerels are trying to dominate the hens. Their hormones are driving them, telling them to dominate, whether it is pullets their age or mature hens. Three months may seem a little early but not that much. It happens.

To me there is nothing strange or unusual in what you are seeing. To me it's not perverted or horrible, just part of chickens going through puberty. It's unlikely any will actually get hurt but it can become somewhat violent and can be hard to watch. If it upsets you or you don't want to watch it them get rid of the boys now. There is nothing wrong with getting rid of them now. It's likely to get more violent than it is now so it's probably a good time to get rid of them.

 

[Loka]

Everywhere online always said roosters start mating 4-5 months. Today when I was in the coop I saw my almost three month old probably mating with my older hen or attacking it. He pulled out two feathers as well before I could stop it. Is it normal for him to do it so young? I also have several other roosters if that makes a difference, possibly worried about competition or something? Don’t worry I’m not keeping the roosters just haven’t got rid of them yet because I thought I had more time. I recently just hatched them and never in my right mind would have expected to get this much. Any advice/answers will be helpful at this point.

My male Orpington less than two months old has started mating with his brooder Guinea buddies but only with the Male and he is also hitting on his brooder duck buddies. He’s like a roo on steroids. Is this normal?