- Feb 5, 2009
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So this year my very first rooster snuck into my coop in a batch of 100% females
He's around six months old now, very big, and much better behaved than I could have hoped for. He doesn't over-breed his ladies, he's very gentle in offering them food, and will strut about and keep watch for them while they free range. He's been a bit rebellious, but there's been no bloodshed, and I've been doing intermittent rooster-rehab and he seems to be doing better.
So far the ladies have taken a liking to them. Except for three. They are my oldest hens (around 6-7 years old), the most dominant in the flock, and are very skittish, even after six years of trying to get them to warm up to me. Sadly, they are dead-terrified of the rooster. Whenever he starts to do his rooster dance for them, they scatter in a panic. The problem is that the rooster will chase them if they don't cooperate. I'll come outside to hear one of them screaming because the rooster has chased her into a corner in order to breed her. He's even had to drag one of them down from clutching the chicken wire in the pen. He's never drawn blood, and has only accidentally pulled out a few feathers. Yet they are still terrified of him.
Is it normal for roosters to be this persistent with hens that simply don't want to mate? Is he being overly aggressive? I just don't have any other standard to compare his behavior to. If he was actually hurting them I would have gotten rid of him in a heartbeat, but so far he's been gentle, and I just can't figure out why these three hens are so scared of him.
So far the ladies have taken a liking to them. Except for three. They are my oldest hens (around 6-7 years old), the most dominant in the flock, and are very skittish, even after six years of trying to get them to warm up to me. Sadly, they are dead-terrified of the rooster. Whenever he starts to do his rooster dance for them, they scatter in a panic. The problem is that the rooster will chase them if they don't cooperate. I'll come outside to hear one of them screaming because the rooster has chased her into a corner in order to breed her. He's even had to drag one of them down from clutching the chicken wire in the pen. He's never drawn blood, and has only accidentally pulled out a few feathers. Yet they are still terrified of him.
Is it normal for roosters to be this persistent with hens that simply don't want to mate? Is he being overly aggressive? I just don't have any other standard to compare his behavior to. If he was actually hurting them I would have gotten rid of him in a heartbeat, but so far he's been gentle, and I just can't figure out why these three hens are so scared of him.
