When did your cockerel mature?

[AustralorpsAU]

Hi everybody,

I am making this thread so that when people ask - when is my cockerel going to do his thing? - you can direct them here so they can read when other people's cockerel matured!

Please state their breed and age and any additional information (not compulsory)

PLEASE READ:
- There are many variables that come into the equation. Basing your cockerels maturity on just one persons cannot be accurate as they will have different circumstances. If another older more dominant rooster is in there the cockerel, it will not have a chance to crow or mate so please only post if you don't have another rooster in with it!

I start by saying that i have a Blue Australorp cockerel that is now 5 months old (20 weeks) and is yet to mature. He hasn't started crowing and he isn't mating the hens that i know of. Here is a pic

@PingoBags 's BLUE AUSTRALORP CROSS is 18 weeks old and as far as the owner is concerned has never crowed or shown interest in the pullets.
@BlueBaby 's SPLASH AUSTRALORP started mating his hens at 5 1/2 months of age! He was even covering the older hens.
@CTKen 's BROWN LEGHORN started crowing/mating at around 4-5 months old. Didn't cover all his hens until he was 7 months old.
@mcclucker 's GOLDEN LACED WYANDOTTE started the occasional crow at 10-11 weeks old. He is now 18 weeks old and is yet to mate the hens (that she knows of).

 

[BlueBaby]

I now have a cockerel that will be 5 month's old in a couple more day's. He's a mixed breed cross of Naked Neck, Silver Grey Dorking, and Red Ranger. I still haven't heard him crow, nor have I seen him trying to breed any of the girl's. There is no mature rooster in the flock right now, so does he think that I am the flock's rooster?

 

[Sally PB]

Due to my ignorance, the three straight run Buff Orpingtons I got at TSC were all cockerels. At least the three Black Australorps pullets were indeed pullets. All are the same age and raised together.

One BO began crowing at 8 weeks; the other two started at about 10 weeks. At 3.5 months, two of the three cockerels turned into unholy terrors. They came after me. They chased and mated the three pullets (who weren't yet laying) around and mounted them so much that the girls just stayed on the roost in the coop. If they were on the floor or the ground, one of those two was on them. I had to go in with bowls and hand feed and water them. Those two had to be culled.

The remaining cockerel does mate with the girls, but not incessantly. (Yes, one cockerel, three pullets.) He tidbits, he looks out for danger, he will take a treat from my hand and pass it off to one of the pullets. I have had to remind him that I am the boss a few times, but he does well by his ladies. They're all seven months old now. And yes, he's the one who crowed at 8 weeks. I have a picture of him in the brooder with his little wattles coming in; because of the way his head is tilted, he looks like he has a red bowtie on.

 

[Pork Pie]

My Brown Leghorn little fella took a while to learn that appropriate rooster behaviour increased his chance of being accepted by the girls. He was approx 7 months before he managed to cover all the hens in the flock. Higher ranking girls will not allow a little punk the luxury of mating, so it can take time before you can be sure that he is successfully covering the whole flock.

 

[AustralorpsAU]

My Brown Leghorn little fella took a while to learn that appropriate rooster behaviour increased his chance of being accepted by the girls. He was approx 7 months before he managed to cover all the hens in the flock. Higher ranking girls will not allow a little punk the luxury of mating, so it can take time before you can be sure that he is successfully covering the whole flock.

Good info. When did he start to crow/mate?

 

[BlueBaby]

My Slash Australorp was 5 1/2 months old, and he started crowing and mating with the almost 1 year old Black Australorp hens. He will be 6 months old on the 21st of this month (1 week from now). I have proof that he is definitely fertilizing the hen's, because I just got done hatching out 4 of his children in my incubator. All of the babies turned out blue.

 

[Pork Pie]

Good info. When did he start to crow/mate?

Crowing - probably 4-5 months, mating not long after, but only with omega pullets to begin with

 

[AustralorpsAU]

So what ill do is ill put the info on the first thread with the breeds in chronological order!!

 

[rebrascora]

I think it is important to remember with a thread like this, that circumstances will play a big part in cockerels declaring themselves. For instance....

If there is an adult rooster already in the flock, a juvenile will usually take longer to build up the confidence to crow and start mating hens, especially if they don't free range as they will be under the watchful eye of the dominant male most of the time.
Male hatch mates, I find, take longer to mate with their "siblings" if they are all brought up together in their own little group, rather than if they are raised in a larger mixed flock.

I'm afraid I can't offer facts and figures as I have far too many juvenile farmyard mutt males running around to keep tabs on and some of them will be getting processed before they get the chance to fulfil all the criteria I'm afraid!

 

[AustralorpsAU]

I think it is important to remember with a thread like this, that circumstances will play a big part in cockerels declaring themselves. For instance....

If there is an adult rooster already in the flock, a juvenile will usually take longer to build up the confidence to crow and start mating hens, especially if they don't free range as they will be under the watchful eye of the dominant male most of the time.
Male hatch mates, I find, take longer to mate with their "siblings" if they are all brought up together in their own little group, rather than if they are raised in a larger mixed flock.

I'm afraid I can't offer facts and figures as I have far too many juvenile farmyard mutt males running around to keep tabs on and some of them will be getting processed before they get the chance to fulfil all the criteria I'm afraid!

That is true! A very good thing to consider. Maybe its best if people only post if their cockerel is not in with another rooster!