Badly behaved cockerel

[Kiwibird]

I have a young cockerel who has just started crowing. Unfortunately, he has also started attacking the pullets, and he doesn't stop when they submit. Will he change his ways if I keep locking him up? Is he likely to behave better with older hens? Do they go through a stage of being obnoxious then come right by themselves? Or is it time for chicken dinner?

I chased him and he ran into the garden pond. I felt a lot better, but I don't know whether the pullets did or not!

 

[Elite Silkies]

You need to put him in Chicken Jail. If you start now, you might be able to change him. When he attacks grab him by his legs and carry him upside down.

 

[Kiwibird]

He is low to the ground and hard to catch. What if I keep chasing him into the pond when he does that? Or will the animal cruelty people find that harsh and unnatural, do you think?

 

[Dixiedoodle]

Don't wait as long as I did! Being new to chickens and not really knowing what to expect w/ my rooster....I was horrified by his cruelty to the hens but thought I am being over protective of them and he is just doing rooster duty!!! All the girls are completely bald, I mean down to the skin--in an area about 3" down from their combs.. Well, it continued too long-- I actually saw him dragging on full grown pullet thru the run by her neck.. She was acting stunned, so I placed her away from the coop, in a safe cage---She DIED... another hen is struggling w/ a hip problem due to his being too rough.. Well, he is no longer here... My girls seem so much happier. They are all staying together.. Egg production is up --only one who isn't laying is the hurt lady.. So, please watch him closely and if you aren't terrible fond of him--invite him to dinner!!!

 

[Kiwibird]

Thanks Dixiedoodle,

I'm so sorry you had that happen. I have had hens for years, but the rooster is very much in the situation of having to prove himself to stay on. We haven't had one before. I will give him two more supervised chances to meet the girls, I think, or dinner is looking like a really good outcome for him. He can run amok in a matter of minutes, but unfortunately it is much easier to persuade the girls to go back into their grazing ark than to get him into his, so they miss out on time free ranging because he poses a risk to them.