11 week males - trying to mate females?

[Acre4Me]

A new flock of 17 birds age 11 weeks tomorrow. 5 males (we will cull 3-4 soon and will keep 1 or 2 males). The 2 dark brown leghorn males are maturing the fastest. They (DBL) are starting to try to mount the females - who are protesting, as expected. Is this a typical age for the males to start to try to mount the females? The few times I have caught the DBL males trying to mount, they are a bit rough - grabbing the female by neck feathers and female runs...while the male is still hanging on to the feathers and running alongside the female. They give up after a few paces, of course.

In addition, some of the males have a brief altercation - I'm not surprised by this, and it is usually the DBL males, often with one of the other males, who aren't really responding back in an aggressive way - not surprised since the other males don't seem to be at the same sexual maturity level yet, despite being the same age. So far, the males will get out of our way when we come into he coop or run and are human skittish. Males are DBL (2), Black Australorp (1), EE (1), Black Jersey Giant (1).

Coop is 10'x6'. Run is 10' x 50', with some areas to be more out of sight of each other.

Thoughts appreciated.

 

[Ducksandchickens]

Some roosters try to mate at a young age but you should try separating the males and females for a bit

A new flock of 17 birds age 11 weeks tomorrow. 5 males (we will cull 3-4 soon and will keep 1 or 2 males). The 2 dark brown leghorn males are maturing the fastest. They (DBL) are starting to try to mount the females - who are protesting, as expected. Is this a typical age for the males to start to try to mount the females? The few times I have caught the DBL males trying to mount, they are a bit rough - grabbing the female by neck feathers and female runs...while the male is still hanging on to the feathers and running alongside the female. They give up after a few paces, of course.

In addition, some of the males have a brief altercation - I'm not surprised by this, and it is usually the DBL males, often with one of the other males, who aren't really responding back in an aggressive way - not surprised since the other males don't seem to be at the same sexual maturity level yet, despite being the same age. So far, the males will get out of our way when we come into he coop or run and are human skittish. Males are DBL (2), Black Australorp (1), EE (1), Black Jersey Giant (1).

Coop is 10'x6'. Run is 10' x 50', with some areas to be more out of sight of each other.

Thoughts appreciated.

 

[Ridgerunner]

It's a little early to start but not that early. I once saw an 11 week old pullet squat for an 11 week old male. It was not a sign that she was ready to lay either. She did not start laying for at least another two months.

As you noted, some mature earlier than others. At that age it is not really sexual, it's about dominance. They start working on pecking order/dominance issues pretty much from hatch but once some of the hormones hit that urge to dominate can become really strong. Those hormones hit with the boys earlier than the girls.

The mating act is more a dominance thing that purely sexual. The one on bottom is accepting the dominance of the one on top, either willingly or by force. What you are seeing is an attempt by force and the pullets aren't having anything to do with it.

Don't be totally shocked if you see a male try to mount another male, it's about dominance. In an all-female flock, even with adults, it's not that unusual for the dominant female to mount another female, it's about dominance. That's why you sometimes see a dominant rooster knock an inferior rooster or cockerel off of a hen he's trying to mate. Sometimes you see a dominant hen knock an immature cockerel off of a hen or pullet he is trying to mate. A show of dominance.

I usually don't see that kind of behavior until somewhere around 15 weeks but they can be quite a bit early or late.

 

[sylviethecochin]

Unless you plan on eating them, I'd try to get rid of the DBLs now. No need for that amount of aggression around the place. It's upsetting your flock, and it's just plain nasty.

I'd only keep one rooster, for a flock that size.

 

[Acre4Me]

It's a little early to start but not that early. I once saw an 11 week old pullet squat for an 11 week old male. It was not a sign that she was ready to lay either. She did not start laying for at least another two months.

As you noted, some mature earlier than others. At that age it is not really sexual, it's about dominance. They start working on pecking order/dominance issues pretty much from hatch but once some of the hormones hit that urge to dominate can become really strong. Those hormones hit with the boys earlier than the girls.

The mating act is more a dominance thing that purely sexual. The one on bottom is accepting the dominance of the one on top, either willingly or by force. What you are seeing is an attempt by force and the pullets aren't having anything to do with it.

Don't be totally shocked if you see a male try to mount another male, it's about dominance. In an all-female flock, even with adults, it's not that unusual for the dominant female to mount another female, it's about dominance. That's why you sometimes see a dominant rooster knock an inferior rooster or cockerel off of a hen he's trying to mate. Sometimes you see a dominant hen knock an immature cockerel off of a hen or pullet he is trying to mate. A show of dominance.

I usually don't see that kind of behavior until somewhere around 15 weeks but they can be quite a bit early or late.

Thanks Ridgerunner! Good to know. Right now I am trying to determine if one or both DBL are being similarly aggressive/ dominating. I know I will get rid of one of the DBL, and would rather get rid of the more aggressive one (if only one is being the more aggressive). I'll try to put 2 colors of zip tie between the two DBL and this may help us to determine if they are behaving different. Both are crowing and possibly both are trying to mount, but not sure. To my novice eyes, I have seen some pecking order being established, although still seems a bit loose to me. Therefore, I'm guessing a more experienced eye would see more pecking order signs, even at this point. They were in a 3x6 brooder till recently - weather didn't cooperate for coop building as soon as we had anticipated - and they got along pretty well with no injuries or obvious signs of displeasure. We did let them into the run the last couple of weeks though, so they were not crammed in the brooder all day. They LOVE to hang out under the coop, so I am really glad we went with an elevated design.

 

[Acre4Me]

Unless you plan on eating them, I'd try to get rid of the DBLs now. No need for that amount of aggression around the place. It's upsetting your flock, and it's just plain nasty.

I'd only keep one rooster, for a flock that size.

Yes, we may end up with just one male. However, I plan to get rid of 2 fairly soon (one DBL and the EE male). I will keep the other 3 for a bit longer to determine which one has the best Rooster personality by the end of the summer. Also, I may get up to 6 more pullets in the late summer or fall - have not yet decided on this yet. If I do add more pullets, then I would have 18 females to 2 males.... but this is still TBD.

 

[Acre4Me]

@Ridgerunner @sylviethecochin

We have been able to determine that the DBL with fewer points on his comb will become dinner fairly soon. He is a major aggressor with all other birds, particularly the females. The other roosters have stood up for themselves as far as we have seen. This rooster (only 11 weeks old - same age as all the other chickens) will grab neck feathers and basically pin down that bird (seems to always be a hen) - he is not on top of them as if to mate, really just being a very aggressive jerk. We have seen him just going after another chicken without any reason (other than for dominance). Anyway, his aggression level has been surprising given his relatively young age.

Last night the aggressive DBL pecked at my spouses hand as he was putting the small water container into the coop. As the coop is elevated and the spot we put the water is as far from the roosts (and near the door) as possible, it means that only my spouses hand and arm was inside the coop. Spouse picked up the rooster and gave him two hard taps on the head with one finger, trying to mimic their mode of communication. We will see if we can curb his personality for the time being, but definitely concerned that this will get quickly worse.

Here they are in the coop last night (I think 1 or 2 are out of the picture). As noted before, we do not intend to keep all these roosters, just trying to figure out who has best personality and this DBL is NOT the one! He seems to remain strutting around the coop, being large and in charge while everyone else is settling in.

 

[Ridgerunner]

My attitude is that any chicken (male or female) that is disturbing the peace and tranquility of the flock does not do that for very long. I can put up with a fair amount when they are in the immature pullet/cockerel phase but I do have limits.

Do you need a recipe?

 

[Acre4Me]

My attitude is that any chicken (male or female) that is disturbing the peace and tranquility of the flock does not do that for very long. I can put up with a fair amount when they are in the immature pullet/cockerel phase but I do have limits.

Do you need a recipe?

Sure! I’m not sure if a cockerel at less than 16 weeks needs special cooking to be edible. We expect to cull no later than June 22, possibly sooner. Therefore not older than 16 weeks I think.

 

[TheTwoRoos]

It’s normal,almost all my roosters start that early,some not as early.Usually the ones who are being raised with Brothers seem to mature early.My last cockerel who was raised with all girls had no interest in females till about six months,a pretty average age.