Added the roo!!!

[7L Farm]

Well, I added the roo to my flock of ten RIR hens. Their all pretty close in age around 6 months or so. Everything seems OK. I picked some greens & kale & gave it to them & the roo was eating some along with the hens & one of the hens tried to take a bite from the roo's food & he pecked her.I thought he was supposed to provide for her.Is this normal I know he's new. All I know is if he hurts wanna my 10 hens, I do own an axe. Also, how long before I can start free ranging again. This big overgrown chicken better protect my girls. Guess, you can tell I've never had a roo & one of the reason I got him is to protect them. This thing is Hugh.

 

[Judy]

He is supposed to provide for her, wait for her to eat, certainly not compete for food. On the other hand, he was just introduced. It might all work out very well in a few days. Maybe he was just saying, I'm in charge now. Which is what you want, after all.

Good luck with him. I know where my axe is, too.

 

[monathequeen]

Hello,
Ok, you got the roo to protect ? The roo will protect the hens alright but first he needs to establish his place among the flock. He will probably get "pecked" now and then and he will get agressive with the hens for being bullied so to speak but this will not last long. The Roo will "RULE" eventually and that is what has to happen. The Rooster is always at the top of the totem pole and he will always be. The hens will back down and let him be the ruler of the flock. You don't need to be worried about him hurting the hens and if he does get agressive, let him be.
There has to be a dominant one in the flock and there is constant fighting from the hens to establish that position. But now that you have a Rooster, the previous dominant hen will have to step aside and there is no question about that from the Rooster.
It's natural for this behavior. No need to sharpen your axe....leave the axe in the shed for racoons.....
My Rooster was the best leader with the hens and he would protect them to to the point that when they were all outside free-ranging, he would gather the hens up when it got dark and he wouldn't go inside the coop until all the hens were home safe. If there were one stubborn hen who wanted to get one last crickett, he would go after her and chase her back to the coop...It is one of the most interesting things I've ever seen. I have learned allot from raising chickens and I learned that you don't interfere with the order.
Leave them be and watch and learn. There are some Roosters who will actually kill a hen for not abiding to the rules but this is very rare.....Now when you put two Roosters together, that's another story. Just relax and enjoy. If you want to get close to your roo, pick him up everyday and hold him for a few minutes...he will start trusting you and learn that "you" are the boss of him. My roo loved for me to come pick him up and scratch his head. he was also HUGE....you just can't be afraid of them...good-luck.

 

[7L Farm]

Quote:
Yea, I'm going ballistic. It sounds worse than it really is . I just don't want him to hurt my chicks in anyway.I was their roo for 4 months . I hope he helps out. He's still trying to figure out everything I'm real protective of my hen's. When he mates them I hate it & beat him off he needs to learn how to court these sweet chicks. Their just sweethearts .

 

[7L Farm]

Quote:
Great advice. Thanks. He's new to my flock & I'm already giving him no chance to prove himself. Guess , I want immediate gratification. This guy doesn't even know where the front door is yet. I let them out to free range it started getting dark all the girls were on the roost he couldn't figure out how to get in.He kept trying to fly through the window . LOL

 

[KC n KY]

Don't be to hard on your roo. I am really protective of my hens too, but when you get a new roo he has to establish his place on the pecking order. I just got a new roo as well( 5 days ago) and he has just now become the head of the flock. It also took him about 2 or 3 days to figure out how to use the door. Be patient, he will eventually get into the swing of things.

 

[Katy]

Quote:
Yea, I'm going ballistic. It sounds worse than it really is . I just don't want him to hurt my chicks in anyway.I was their roo for 4 months . I hope he helps out. He's still trying to figure out everything I'm real protective of my hen's.When he mates them I hate it & beat him off he needs to learn how to court these sweet chicks. Their just sweethearts .

He's just doing what roos are meant to do. If you don't want the hens being mated you shouldn't have a roo with them.

 

[mulewagon]

It'll take them several weeks to get the hang of mating. At first, the young rooster grabs and pulls feathers, and the young hens scream and run away. Eventually, the rooster will strut up to the hen, or do the Chicken Dance around her, and she'll flop down.

It's actually okay to interrupt mating (just tip him off with your toe) because that's what dominant roosters do. If he does the Chicken Dance at you, it's a challenge, so chase him away. These precautions will help keep him from deciding that you're an inferior rooster who needs to be driven off.

 

[sourland]

What Katy said! Chicken mating is not gentle. If you were not prepared for this, you should never have gotten a rooster. "When he mates them, I hate it and beat him off-" You can't stop that which is natural.

 

[7L Farm]

It's getting better . Guess it just takes practice. I think it's gonna work. I just hated him beating my chicks up. They are my first flock & I want their life to be the best I can provide them. I've always felt this way with my animals.