A question about a rooster's behavior

[Ridgerunner]

It’s hard to know just what the behavior is if you are not there watching in person. A lot of that behavior is normal and natural. The part that is worrying is the grab from the front and drag around. It may not be nearly as bad as the OP made it sound. It sounds excessive, more than the normal behavior I see in my flock, but again it may be within acceptable bounds. I just don’t know. As Sumi said, some of this is not for the faint of heart.

Another thing is that he has supposedly singled out the molting hens as his main target. A hen that is laying sends out signals to a rooster that she needs to be fertilized. An easy one is that the comb is normally bright red when they are laying and lighter colored when they are not. So this is purely about him forcing his dominance on the older hens. It’s purely a dominance issue, not really anything to do with mating. The older hens are the dominant ones in the flock. Those are the ones he is trying to take control of the flock from. Instead of all the Red Rocks, I’d guess it is probably just one or maybe two of them, the dominant ones.

The reason I suggest isolating him for a while is that he will mature. Once he matures he will probably be able to dominate them more by personality than by brute strength. The mad rush if hormones will be over and he will be in better control of himself. He will probably behave like a mature rooster and the hens will be a lot more likely to accept him as flock master. Often when a mature rooster is introduced to a flock of mature hens they pretty much accept him without all the drama. He just come in, mates a few, and bang, they are his flock. The former dominant hen might put up some resistance but even that does not always happen. Quite often they become best buddies. It’s not the pecking order that is being established, it’s who is to be the master of the whole flock. Who has the responsibilities to keep peace in the flock, find them food, fertilize the eggs, watch for danger, and all the other things that a good flock master does to take care of his flock.

I know this sounds patronizing and maybe it is, but not everyone is meant to have a rooster. Some people can’t accept the normal flock dynamics of a rooster becoming the flock master, especially through the adolescent phase. It’s just too upsetting for them to watch. The transition of a more mature rooster becoming flock master is normally a lot easier to watch. A whole lot of the drama just goes away because he does it more by personality than by brute force and the hens normally resist a lot less. Since the OP said the rooster is expendable I personally think that is the best option. Just remove him from the flock and all the possible issues of having a rooster go away. As an alternative, ease the transition and make it easier to watch.

 

[centrarchid]

Yes, isolate him short term until his adult feathers are fully in. Based on image he is close.


I have seen roosters in poor health behave as described. The odd mating attempts are as much a function of physical weakness as they are immaturity of the mind. Weak birds seem unable to mount or stand properly. Check him out.

 

[jajones480]

I know this sounds patronizing and maybe it is, but not everyone is meant to have a rooster. Some people can’t accept the normal flock dynamics of a rooster becoming the flock master, especially through the adolescent phase. It’s just too upsetting for them to watch. The transition of a more mature rooster becoming flock master is normally a lot easier to watch. A whole lot of the drama just goes away because he does it more by personality than by brute force and the hens normally resist a lot less. Since the OP said the rooster is expendable I personally think that is the best option. Just remove him from the flock and all the possible issues of having a rooster go away. As an alternative, ease the transition and make it easier to watch.

Now that I know what I'm looking at is somewhat normal, I'm okay with it. I understand why he seems to pick on the Red Rocks more than he does the other ones. He (somehow) knows that they are the dominant members of the flock and is trying to get them to submit.

Oddly enough, the problem seems to have worked itself out. We live on 3.2 acres, about 2 of that is cleared. Our property is very long; we have almost 600 feet of road front. Our original chicken pen was on the opposite end of the property from out house, mainly because it was the only place on our property that had a flat spot. After I built the new coop, I kept the original pen and the makeshift chain linked pen that I got with 6 hens I bought off of Craigslist in that spot. Over the last few days, our original flock started migrating back to that part of the property instead of staying withing the confines of our 1/2 acre fenced in backyard where the new coop is. I started finding them preferring to sleep there instead of in the new coop. They seem to prefer this arrangement and so for the winter, I think I am going to let it go. I need to winterize their area by putting up some plywood walls for the pen as well as using the housewrap. A friend and I moved the pen into a fairly mature copse of pines on our property that offers both a wind break and protection from precipitation. We free range the chickens so that area is ideal in the winter because they will still be able to scratch at the ground.

It's more work for me since the chickens aren't all in one spot but I think in the long run, it's the right decision. I was outside most of the day today working on the coop and just around the property in general and was able to observe the rooster. His behavior towards the other 6 - 7 birds is pretty normal. I never once saw him drag any of them around by the head so I think this is a better situation for him to because he is comfortable in his position now and doesn't feel threatened. Yes - when we reintroduce them in the Spring this issue may rear it's ugly head again but I'm hoping some time will change his behavior a bit.

Thanks to all who posted suggestions! It was very helpful.

 

[jajones480]

UPDATE: Separation was unnecessary. About a week after the last post everyone seemed to fall in line. The Reds, for the most part, have submitted. He's stopped bullying the hens altogether. The ones that want nothing to do with him leave the fenced in yard for the day and come back at night. That stresses him out.

He's actually turned out to be a very good rooster. He's very protective of them. If he hears one of them squawking like they're in distress, he comes running. It's funny because some of them don't really care to be picked up so when I do handle them, he comes over and gives me this look that says, "Oh, it's only you.". He also is very good at putting them back in the coop at night. Around dusk, he starts herding them into the coop. Once they are in he doesn't let them out. He will peck at them if they try to leave. He sees the ones outside the fenced-in area and squawks at them to come in and to my surprise most of them came over to the gate and lined Up!

 

[aart]

UPDATE: Separation was unnecessary. About a week after the last post everyone seemed to fall in line. The Reds, for the most part, have submitted. He's stopped bullying the hens altogether. The ones that want nothing to do with him leave the fenced in yard for the day and come back at night. That stresses him out.

He's actually turned out to be a very good rooster. He's very protective of them. If he hears one of them squawking like they're in distress, he comes running. It's funny because some of them don't really care to be picked up so when I do handle them, he comes over and gives me this look that says, "Oh, it's only you.". He also is very good at putting them back in the coop at night. Around dusk, he starts herding them into the coop. Once they are in he doesn't let them out. He will peck at them if they try to leave. He sees the ones outside the fenced-in area and squawks at them to come in and to my surprise most of them came over to the gate and lined Up!

Sounds great, thanks for sharing the outcome!

 

[CHICKVIRGIN]

It’s hard to know just what the behavior is if you are not there watching in person. A lot of that behavior is normal and natural. The part that is worrying is the grab from the front and drag around. It may not be nearly as bad as the OP made it sound. It sounds excessive, more than the normal behavior I see in my flock, but again it may be within acceptable bounds. I just don’t know. As Sumi said, some of this is not for the faint of heart.

Another thing is that he has supposedly singled out the molting hens as his main target. A hen that is laying sends out signals to a rooster that she needs to be fertilized. An easy one is that the comb is normally bright red when they are laying and lighter colored when they are not. So this is purely about him forcing his dominance on the older hens. It’s purely a dominance issue, not really anything to do with mating. The older hens are the dominant ones in the flock. Those are the ones he is trying to take control of the flock from. Instead of all the Red Rocks, I’d guess it is probably just one or maybe two of them, the dominant ones.

The reason I suggest isolating him for a while is that he will mature. Once he matures he will probably be able to dominate them more by personality than by brute strength. The mad rush if hormones will be over and he will be in better control of himself. He will probably behave like a mature rooster and the hens will be a lot more likely to accept him as flock master. Often when a mature rooster is introduced to a flock of mature hens they pretty much accept him without all the drama. He just come in, mates a few, and bang, they are his flock. The former dominant hen might put up some resistance but even that does not always happen. Quite often they become best buddies. It’s not the pecking order that is being established, it’s who is to be the master of the whole flock. Who has the responsibilities to keep peace in the flock, find them food, fertilize the eggs, watch for danger, and all the other things that a good flock master does to take care of his flock.

I know this sounds patronizing and maybe it is, but not everyone is meant to have a rooster. Some people can’t accept the normal flock dynamics of a rooster becoming the flock master, especially through the adolescent phase. It’s just too upsetting for them to watch. The transition of a more mature rooster becoming flock master is normally a lot easier to watch. A whole lot of the drama just goes away because he does it more by personality than by brute force and the hens normally resist a lot less. Since the OP said the rooster is expendable I personally think that is the best option. Just remove him from the flock and all the possible issues of having a rooster go away. As an alternative, ease the transition and make it easier to watch.

I
Wow. I need your help! I have two roosters hatched on my counter mid July. Only other one that hatched was killed by the neighbor dog. They were eggs given to me by a friend for hatching. In the last three days both roosters are going crazy with the 8 hens. They are obsessed. My hens have not previous had a rooster and they are almost two years old. I need to get rid of one rooster I know. They are each matkng on a hen then the other rooster jumps on him at the same time. Or one rooster will hold down a hen by the hen while they take turns jumping on her. They work together and separate one hen between then then make their move. The hens run from them all the time. There is no harmony. The roosters do their dance for each other! Sometimes I see them try this with a hen but more often now they walk sideways and just pin her down quick while the other waits his turn and stands next to him. Or hops on him!! Not all my girls are laying even. One is molting still and a couple have lighter combs. Im not providing supplemental light this winter. Getting 2-4 eggs a day which is fine for now.
Can you give me guidance on what to do?

 

[lazy gardener]

For the sake of your hens, you need to get rid of at least one rooster. If there is only one, they can't work together to brutalize the hens. I've seen this behavior, and it's not at all pleasant to watch. So, get rid of one roo. Hopefully, when he doesn't have an other male around to compete with, the remaining roo won't be quite so frantic in his mating activity. But, if he continues, you might want to remove him from the hens for a while, or even get rid of him. If neither of these roos can become gentlemen with their hens, eat them. You can look for someone in the spring who is looking to re-home a seasoned rooster.

 

[Free Feather]

You do not necessarily need to "eat them". Removing him for a while will usually not work because he will act worse when he gets back. If you can get more girls, you could put one of the boys in with a new female flock. Or keep a bachelor pad.

 

[centrarchid]

Bachelor pad option will work great. Rooster still not fully mature which makes current situation more difficult for pullets. Allow full maturation (a good 9 months before putting one back if practical. You will see a marked change in behavior and voice at that time.

 

[CHICKVIRGIN]

Thank you. I don't want to isolate one or both of them as neither are friendly. One has gotten meaner since he got his voice a few days ago. The other that has been crowing longer is a little less aggressive now that the other roo has found himself. How would o know which one to keep. I tried giving them away on a few fb poultry sites in MI but.no takers and what's the best way to kill one? Thank you.

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