Weird question

[ariri30]

I have an 7 month old cockerel and 10 weeks old chicks. Yesterday while I was watching them I saw the older cockerel trying to mate with one of the 10 weeks old chick that I think is a baby roo. Does the older cockerel knows if the chick is a male or female better than I do? Or was he confused and he doesn’t know the difference yet? or maybe I’m the confused one

 

[ValerieJ]

Take the cockerel out of the pen where the young ones are. Keep him separated until they are full grown.

 

[AmericanMom]

I seriously dont think they know or there hormones are crazy and they dont care.. agree with the above, take him out regardless

 

[ariri30]

Take the cockerel out of the pen where the young ones are. Keep him separated until they are full grown.

Ok thanks. I’ll do that.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Does the older cockerel knows if the chick is a male or female better than I do? Or was he confused and he doesn’t know the difference yet? or maybe I’m the confused one

Maybe, not sure to all three questions. Some chicks start puberty pretty young and I'm not sure how chickens tell the difference between males and females. I think there is a fair chance he knew it was a cockerel.

When dealing with immature chickens especially mating behavior is not about sex. It is about dominance. The one on bottom is accepting the dominance of the one on top, either willingly or by force. I don't know if that was willingly or by force. It makes sense to me that the older cockerel was establishing dominance over a future rival.

I don't know what differences is sizes there are now or will be when they all become adults. I don't know how many other chickens you have or what sex or size they are. I don't know how much risk those younger ones are in. The more difference in size the more risk in mating, but as long as it's not violent the risk is probably pretty small. Especially if it is rare.

What are your plans for those cockerels? You can separate them now if you want. But if you plan on them sharing coop/run space when they get older, your chances of them working that out peacefully are better if they are raised together.

 

[ariri30]

I have 10 cockerel right now. Of different ages. They are all bantam. Apart from that time they pretty much get alone find. I was just surprised because I really don’t know if the little one is male or female even thought I have a guess that he’s a boy. Out of 7 eggs one is a pullet and suspect the rest are cockerel. I guess wishful thinking. I can post a picture later of the two questionable chicks.

 

[ariri30]

Here are a couple of pictures of my cute boys. And by the way they are Dutch

 

[chickens really]

I'm thinking they are Pullets..

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Does the older cockerel knows if the chick is a male or female better than I do? Or was he confused and he doesn’t know the difference yet? or maybe I’m the confused one

Maybe, not sure to all three questions. Some chicks start puberty pretty young and I'm not sure how chickens tell the difference between males and females. I think there is a fair chance he knew it was a cockerel.

When dealing with immature chickens especially mating behavior is not about sex. It is about dominance. The one on bottom is accepting the dominance of the one on top, either willingly or by force. I don't know if that was willingly or by force. It makes sense to me that the older cockerel was establishing dominance over a future rival.

I don't know what differences is sizes there are now or will be when they all become adults. I don't know how many other chickens you have or what sex or size they are. I don't know how much risk those younger ones are in. The more difference in size the more risk in mating, but as long as it's not violent the risk is probably pretty small. Especially if it is rare.

What are your plans for those cockerels? You can separate them now if you want. But if you plan on them sharing coop/run space when they get older, your chances of them working that out peacefully are better if they are raised together.

This is a great answer in all its parts, IMO. Although similar to humans in many ways, animals are also very different from us. What looks like sexual behavior to us very often isn't, and we humans get very distressed by these kinds of behaviors because of our own prejudices and experiences. For example, we see puppies "humping" each other in play, long before sexual maturity, and, especially when it's same-sex behavior, people wonder if their dogs are gay.

Very simply, as @Ridgerunner pointed out, in animals, especially sexually immature ones, it's not sexual at all! It's a more-or-less "game" of "who's the boss? or "who's your daddy?" Sorry for the canine digression; I'm much more familiar with dog behavior than I am with poultry; but it seems logical to me that what's true for dogs would most likely be true for other animals, including chickens.

Edit: spelling typo

 

[ariri30]

I’ll update you guys in a couple of weeks. I’m sure I’ll know by then