Roosters and the flock.

[MNS1979]

Hi. Currently I have a flock of 17. 15 ladies and 2 boys. Off the top of my head I can guess 15 are around 4 mths old, all raised together ( none laying yet ) And 2 are around 6 mths old, newer to the flock. ( laying ) I kept the 2 new girls alone for 30 days, etc. My 2 Roosters are Monster and Bully. They earned their names. Monster is biggest, matured faster, crowed first. Bully was a pecker, slow grower, stubby tail. They are both BJG's. It was clear Monster was Alpha. In the begining he gently made it clear to Bully. When we introduced the two older new ladies they knew who was Alpha. They bowed to Monster, beat up Bully. The new girls have settled. One to Alpha hen status. All is good now. Actually really good. A few weeks ago Bully started crowing, and Monster allowed it. Now they take turns or even crow together. The other day Bully finally managed to mount a lady. Usually he would fail with an "ew no" and get yelled at by Monster. However this time Monster stood by and as soon as Bully finished...Monster tagged the same girl. She wasn't happy. It almost seemed like she accepted Bully instead of Monster. So I have a couple questions. In spring I plan to hatch more pullets to even the hen/rooster ratio. But I was wondering if it would be o.k to also hatch another roo. Would Monster and Bully accept him. Or should I not push my luck and stick with 2 ?
Next I would like to know if this is Normal behavior. Monster seems to watch me. He also seems to listen to me. It's quite weird. Like if Alpha hen is being overly mean and I yell at her or sometimes push her downward and make her stay ( not in a hurtful way ) Mostly in the begining of their addition. When she was attacking everyone. Monster will run over and grab the back of her neck and hold her down for me. Like I got your back. The other day he was hogging the flock block and back kicking the girls away. I didn't like it. I gave him the stink eye and pulled it over by me. He stopped being mean and shared. And the other night on the roost, Alpha hen was being mean trying to peck at the 2 girls she slid between. At first Monster was doing nothing. I walked over and pointed my finger at her and told her to stop. He looked over at her and pecked her. I don't know it's just weird to me. Thanks for replies in advance

 

[keesmom]

In spring I plan to hatch more pullets to even the hen/rooster ratio. But I was wondering if it would be o.k to also hatch another roo. Would Monster and Bully accept him. Or should I not push my luck and stick with 2 ?

You can TRY to hatch more pullets, however you are at the mercy of whatever gender your hens give each egg. On average you will get 50% pullets and 50% cockerels, however that is not always the case in small hatches. I have had some with 75-100% cockerels. Fewer males with a flock is always best so have a plan for the extra cockerels you hatch.

 

[MNS1979]

I have a plan for extra roo's. However it's not a super long term plan. Also I am not in any way interested in culling. If those are truly the odds I will just order more pullets. Thank you.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I always raise a rooster or two with each new batch of chicks, I have noticed that those raised together stick together, I have never seen my roosters mate hens older than them, they form their flocks and that's the hens each will tend to, so add another rooster if you want the new ones to have a rooster. Integrate him just like the hens, he will take his place in the hierarchy at the bottom of the rooster pecking order.

You are acting just like a dominant rooster and your roosters have accepted you as head guy, congratulations on learning their language, it will help you to never get flogged, and to be respected.

 

[song of joy]

I always raise a rooster or two with each new batch of chicks, I have noticed that those raised together stick together, I have never seen my roosters mate hens older than them, they form their flocks and that's the hens each will tend to, so add another rooster if you want the new ones to have a rooster.

That's interesting. I was expecting that to occur in my flock as well, but my 6-month old rooster is now mating about half of the older hens in my flock (1 1/2 and 2 1/2 year olds). I was thinking he'd only be able to mate the hens in his age-group, but perhaps the older hens have come around due to his wing-dancing and tidbitting.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I've always had mature roosters who don't allow such things, he must be quite charming, that's why I always try to write usually, because there's always someone who doesn't follow the rules. He must be your only rooster.

 

[song of joy]

I've always had mature roosters who don't allow such things, he must be quite charming, that's why I always try to write usually, because there's always someone who doesn't follow the rules. He must be your only rooster.

Very good observation! Yes, he's my only rooster. He'll be allowed to stay with the flock if he continues to treat the hens nice and doesn't get aggressive with me. Time will tell.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Hens do like having a good rooster, yours must of been lonely without one, hopefully he behaves himself, he's got a good thing going for him.

 

[MNS1979]

Does it make any difference if a new rooster is the spawn of theirs or total newbie ?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Nope, as long as it's integrated as a young one, 6-10 weeks old, it will just be another chick.