Rooster mating hens by ambush

[629864]

A bit of background: I have 35 chickens, 4 of which are 6 month old roosters/cockerells (3 Brown Leghorns and 1 Easter Egger). These were supposed to be 2 roosters, but 2 of the pullet chicks I ordered hadn't been properly sexed. 16 of the hens are about 1.5-2 years old and are ex bat productuon reds. The remaining hens/pullets are all 6 months old (3 Brown Leghorns and 9 Easter Eggers) except for 2 8-month old Buff Orpingtons.

The Brown Leghorn trio of roosters get along well and has established a clear order of who's in charge, while the EE is left as a sort of outsider not challenged, but not respected either...just sort of ignored or chased off by the other roosters.

This EE is the problem. He's gorgeous, but he, well, the only way I can describe it is that he "attack mates" the hens. We've all seen a chicken spot an insect 50 yards away and then make a sprinting beeline after it back and forth across the yard until it catches the insect. THIS is how the EE rooster accomplishes mating. Like a missile after a target. The hens obviously don't like it. There's never a courting dance. Just a sudden sprint, chase, then POUNCE! This often results in a lot of resistant squawking on the part of the hen, which then gets the attention of the other three roosters who come running to see what the commotion is all about...almost always ending with the poor hen being mounted again by the alpha to show the EE who's boss.

Like I said, the EE rooster is beautiful and I'd love to continue to have the flock diversity with his gene pool, but not if his mating behavior isnt going to get better.

What do you all think? Is this just him being a jerk teenager and just needing to hone his skills on the dating scene or is he just going to become worse with the ladies?

 

[Bonkerelli]

My friend's rooster does the same thing. Flys across the yard and BAM! I've had many roosters and most of them do some courtship dance but some don't.

 

[TropicalBabies]

My thoughts are yes, young so things are still liquid as they will be for awhile. You can def influence things by subtracting, hence automatically upping others importance or higharchy or you can let things ride with your fingers crossed. You are getting to the dreaded place where the rooster behavior forces you to make decisions. Nothing like a beautiful rooster and nothing like a crappy rooster . Kind of reminds me of the good looking dorks I wasted my time with in my youth lol. Looks arnt everything.
The if it were me scenario... I subtract what I think is the problem into a separate pen and see how it goes. If it does not go well I subtract another till I find my flocks happy place. It takes some thought and time so be patient. Nothing like a good roo but they are not always peaceful creatures and having more than 1 gets tricky.
Sorry, don't mean to get off in the weeds here. Your boy may grow out of it. The boys are all young at the same time. You only have the hens to scold them and train and then the hens get ganged up on. Not great. I think you may want to think along the lines of rehoming 1-2- 3 come spring and raise a son of one and so on till you hit happy. That way you will have the help of a good chosen rooster along with flock. I have also noticed that father and sons get along better than siblings. Siblings seem... ugh... so, start eying the one you want to keep and get your dog crate out. Make decisions that way and spare your flock and your nerves.

 

[629864]

My thoughts are yes, young so things are still liquid as they will be for awhile. You can def influence things by subtracting, hence automatically upping others importance or higharchy or you can let things ride with your fingers crossed. You are getting to the dreaded place where the rooster behavior forces you to make decisions. Nothing like a beautiful rooster and nothing like a crappy rooster . Kind of reminds me of the good looking dorks I wasted my time with in my youth lol. Looks arnt everything.
The if it were me scenario... I subtract what I think is the problem into a separate pen and see how it goes. If it does not go well I subtract another till I find my flocks happy place. It takes some thought and time so be patient. Nothing like a good roo but they are not always peaceful creatures and having more than 1 gets tricky.
Sorry, don't mean to get off in the weeds here. You boy may grow out of it. They are all young at the same time. You only have the hens to scold them and train and then they get ganged up on. I think you may want to think along the lines of rehoming 1-2 come spring and raise a son of one. That way you will have the help of a rooster along with flock. I have also noticed that father and sons get along better than siblings.

Thanks Trop. I was kinda thinking the same. As much as I like having the EE genes to mix with the various hens, it's not critical. We'll see. My mental cutoff is May. If he doesnt start behaving better by then, I think I'll have to rehome or soup him. The other three have a clear order of authority and don't really squabble much ... yet.

 

[TropicalBabies]

Thanks Trop. I was kinda thinking the same. As much as I like having the EE genes to mix with the various hens, it's not critical. We'll see. My mental cutoff is May. If he doesnt start behaving better by then, I think I'll have to rehome or soup him. The other three have a clear order of authority and don't really squabble much ... yet.

I think it is great you don't want to eat them.all at this point. Cockerels can be dorks especially when they are not #1. It just occurred to me that the EE is being fast and sneaky because the 3 boys will beat him for mating maybe. He is sneaking his right to mate or instinct.
My Spider rooster use to hide in the bushes hence the name. But once a boy gets stuck in the spot to be the main guy in charge of all they change their tune, usually for the better. The crown weighs heavy.
I think you have a lot of dynamics (aka too many (young) boys). Maybe you ot to cage the 3 bros for a day and see how Handsome does with the flock. Maybe he is not such a jerk after all... maybe HE is the one ♡♡♡

 

[TropicalBabies]

Girls yell when they get mounted by sub roo. Maybe so they don't get scolded by #1. Are the boys still hanging together or has your flock kind of split up yet. Do you have a boy in every corner keeping an eye out or are they just into skirt.?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Is this just him being a jerk teenager and just needing to hone his skills on the dating scene or is he just going to become worse with the ladies?

He's being a jerk teenager. Will he grow out of it? Maybe, maybe not. As they mature their relationship with the other boys can change. As they mature their relationships with the girls can change. You never know how those relationships will change until they do. There are too many possible outcomes to even speculate. It depends on how they all interact.

My suggestion is to make your decisions on what you see and how that ties into your goals.

 

[3KillerBs]

If there are specific girls you want the EE to produce with you could provide them with their own, separate breeding pen so that the EE doesn't have to make the sneak attack to mate but will have his own hens away from the competition.

 

[629864]

If there are specific girls you want the EE to produce with you could provide them with their own, separate breeding pen so that the EE doesn't have to make the sneak attack to mate but will have his own hens away from the competition.

Mine all free range and unfortunately I dont have the ability or finances to build separate pens. Interesting idea though for someone who has the ability to provide separate areas.

 

[jher77]

My rooster pretends to peck at the ground along side a hen pecking at the ground and then when the body is in the right position...BAM....bites the comb and tries to mount. Not always successful so he gets hungry beside another hen. Mine have always done that same tactic.