A rooster with too few hens maybe

[singcleardomini]

Hello all. To explain the situation will start back. We had two hens that were quite happy until they got broody, and we have room for more so figured why not. We got six eggs and three hatched. One has grown into a rooster. A little over a month ago he started to challenge the top hen and even chased her out of the yard. The others started picking on her and she lost a lot of feathers but now it seems stabilized. However the rooster is now picking on the other previous hen, a noisy but friendly Dominique, today he chased her into a corner and when I checked on her her red thing was bleeding in a couple of spots. I'm wondering if he is just showing her who's boss (although they were fine until now) or is the rooster too aggressive. She doesn't like being mounted and seems to avoid him now. So I think I made need to take him out of the flock. Any advice would be nice. Cheers

 

[birdofhermes]

my pet rooster likes to hump a plush chicken toy. maybe something like that might be enough for your one

 

[A.M. Eggs]

You might want to isolate him for a few weeks so that he can calm down. Welcome to BYC btw!

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

I had a rooster who was trying to kill my only hen that wasn't clean legged. He found a new home. Then his son liked to attack me. You probably should get rid of this rooster. A rooster who is mean to his hens and is not trying to protect them is not worth risking your hens for.

 

[Stayc]

I agree with @Lacy Duckwing. An agressive rooster towards your girls or you should be rehomed or culled. I'm not the culling type but i had to remove 2 roosters who were overly aggressive to my hens ( one was just mean to me and them). I was heartbroken about it but he is really intimidating your hens in a bad way. Best of luck 2 u and your flock

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

Yes, A.M. Eggs has got it right. I love roosters, and have raised 8 over the years. The juveniles are just pumped with testosterone, they are a handful. Your girls need some peace; put him outside the pen first thing in the morning. If you have another pen or even a secure fenced area, he can spend the day there. It would be good if he could see the girls while not having access to them. Put out a waterer and feeder for him, then, in the evening you can put him back with the hens to sleep. He'll always want to mount them, as he is a rooster. In a few weeks if he is calming down, let him stay, and check his behavior. As long as he is not purposefully hurting any of the hens, that he doesn't like, let him stay. You can also put a saddle on his favorite, so she doesn't lose feathers on her back.

It takes about one to two years for a rooster to learn how to behave. Some are sweet from the get go. He'll learn faster, if you work with him. You can teach him key words, like No-No, come-come, up-up, get him to eat from your hand. It's a lot like teaching a parrot not to bite. Or, you may have to re-home him. Also, some keepers will tell you to put him in a pot for dinner. I don't believe that is necessary, my current rooster was a little red devil during his first year and a half. But, after working with him, he is a sweetie. He comes when I call him and is so good with the girls. There are some good articles about roosters, here on BYC, take some time to read them.

One last note: It is never acceptable for a rooster to hurt the hens, no matter what his age!

God Bless and good luck

 

[bobbi-j]

How old is this "rooster"? If he's under a year old, he's a cockerel, and likely just coming into breeding age. In other words, he's a hormone-riddled teenager with no self control. Right now his little chicken brain is saying, "BREED, BREED, BREED" and that's all he can think about. If you want to keep him, it may be a thought to separate him from your hens (and pullets - female chickens under a year old) until he settles down. If you don't want to keep him, you might as well start looking for a home for him now, or put him in the freezer. No sense in stressing your hens out any longer than necessary.

 

[aart]

Hello all. To explain the situation will start back. We had two hens that were quite happy until they got broody, and we have room for more so figured why not. We got six eggs and three hatched. One has grown into a rooster. A little over a month ago he started to challenge the top hen and even chased her out of the yard. The others started picking on her and she lost a lot of feathers but now it seems stabilized. However the rooster is now picking on the other previous hen, a noisy but friendly Dominique, today he chased her into a corner and when I checked on her her red thing was bleeding in a couple of spots. I'm wondering if he is just showing her who's boss (although they were fine until now) or is the rooster too aggressive. She doesn't like being mounted and seems to avoid him now. So I think I made need to take him out of the flock. Any advice would be nice. Cheers

How old is the male and the older females?
I'm guessing the male is about 4-6 months old and he's trying to dominate and/or mate the older females and either they are not submitting or he's being overly aggressive with his newly surging hormones.

Separate him and give all the girls a break...this is a pretty good idea, but it may take weeks for him to calm down enough to let him in with the girls at all:

Your girls need some peace; put him outside the pen first thing in the morning. If you have another pen or even a secure fenced area, he can spend the day there. It would be good if he could see the girls while not having access to them. Put out a waterer and feeder for him, then, in the evening you can put him back with the hens to sleep. He'll always want to mount them, as he is a rooster. In a few weeks if he is calming down, let him stay, and check his behavior. As long as he is not purposefully hurting any of the hens, that he doesn't like, let him stay. You can also put a saddle on his favorite, so she doesn't lose feathers on her back.

 

[Mrs. K]

Not all birds work out. Always solve for the peace of your flock. Often times it is a rooster, but it can be a hen. Pull the one you think is causing the problem, put in a dog crate for a day or two, see how the flock is acting. If the flock calms down, cull that bird, if there is still strife, you either have not pulled the right bird, or you still have too many birds in your set up.

Even birds raised together, which for most mammals will insure compatibility, but not so with chickens. Often times there will come a point, where the flock is not working out, you as the flock keeper need to solve the problem. Wishing they would all get along does not work. We have all tried that.

Mrs K