Bantam Rooster attacked my new pullets

[cheeseycheese]

Background: I have a 1yr old bantam Delaware that is now (our RIR rooster died of a heart attack 3 months ago) our only rooster in a flock of 19. He grew up with our original flock of 14 RIRs, a d'Uccle, and a Leghorn and was the submissive rooster to the RIR. It took him about a month to realize he was in charge and his whole demeanor changed to a more aggressive/protective role where he no longer lets our kids handle him. We added 5 new Sapphire Gem pullets to our flock in January, they have all been together now for about 1.5 months with no issues. The SG's are the lowest in the pecking order, even the d'Uccle bosses them around even though they are just as big as our RIR's and are coming close to laying age (one squats already).

Issue #1: Today when I let them out of their coop (they share a coop but the SG's have their own roosting bars) they all ran over for treats and our saucy rooster jumped up and tried to spur one of the gems. None of the pullets have ever received injuries from any of the chickens, but I am worried that he doesn't seem to accept these ladies as part of the flock. Is this a normal thing considering the circumstances or will things get worse?

Issues #2: Mr. Saucy mated with our d'Uccle and we hatched 4 of her eggs. We now have 4 more bantam chicks and I think 2 might be cockerels. Is it even possible to incorporate them into the flock? The would live in their own enclosure inside the other enclosure until they are pretty much full grown, so they would all be introduced safely.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

***EDITED to add: the chicks are only 2 weeks old.

 

[DobieLover]

Background: I have a 1yr old bantam Delaware that is now (our RIR rooster died of a heart attack 3 months ago) our only rooster in a flock of 19. He grew up with our original flock of 14 RIRs, a d'Uccle, and a Leghorn and was the submissive rooster to the RIR. It took him about a month to realize he was in charge and his whole demeanor changed to a more aggressive/protective role where he no longer lets our kids handle him. We added 5 new Sapphire Gem pullets to our flock in January, they have all been together now for about 1.5 months with no issues. The SG's are the lowest in the pecking order, even the d'Uccle bosses them around even though they are just as big as our RIR's and are coming close to laying age (one squats already).

Issue #1: Today when I let them out of their coop (they share a coop but the SG's have their own roosting bars) they all ran over for treats and our saucy rooster jumped up and tried to spur one of the gems. None of the pullets have ever received injuries from any of the chickens, but I am worried that he doesn't seem to accept these ladies as part of the flock. Is this a normal thing considering the circumstances or will things get worse?

Issues #2: Mr. Saucy mated with our d'Uccle and we hatched 4 of her eggs. We now have 4 more bantam chicks and I think 2 might be cockerels. Is it even possible to incorporate them into the flock? The would live in their own enclosure inside the other enclosure until they are pretty much full grown, so they would all be introduced safely.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

I would not attempt to integrate the two cockerels into the flock. It's my personal preference not to try to keep multiple males of the same size as eventually, they begin to fight and they always seem to cause more wear and tear (and stress) with the ladies.
I would lock up the rooster you have until all the SGs are laying and more integrated with the older flock of RIRs. Then let him back out and see how he does once they are a more cohesive unit.

 

[aart]

they all ran over for treats and our saucy rooster jumped up and tried to spur one of the gems.

That to me would be unacceptable behavior....he'd be gone asap.

 

[JedJackson]

Usually a dominant rooster will gladly accept new females, so this could be a real problem. If it continues then I would think of replacing him with another rooster, or maybe just go without roosters.

How many hens do you have? If it's less than 20 I would not keep three cockerels. The two young babies might get along since they're growing up together, but they will more than likely have problems with the older one.

 

[cheeseycheese]

I would not attempt to integrate the two cockerels into the flock. It's my personal preference not to try to keep multiple males of the same size as eventually, they begin to fight and they always seem to cause more wear and tear (and stress) with the ladies.
I would lock up the rooster you have until all the SGs are laying and more integrated with the older flock of RIRs. Then let him back out and see how he does once they are a more cohesive unit.

Thank you! There is a possibility that I could separate the area and have one side for the bantams (minus the rooster) and the other for the full sized ladies.

 

[cheeseycheese]

Usually a dominant rooster will gladly accept new females, so this could be a real problem. If it continues then I would think of replacing him with another rooster, or maybe just go without roosters.

How many hens do you have? If it's less than 20 I would not keep three cockerels. The two young babies might get along since they're growing up together, but they will more than likely have problems with the older one.

I have 18 hens.

The rooster is a tough one because he is good overall, so far he gestures but has never flown towards anything to actually inflict a wound. Like he flies up in the air with his feet out but does it like 2 feet away from his "target", he's never hurt another chicken, ever. Does that make sense?

 

[cheeseycheese]

That to me would be unacceptable behavior....he'd be gone asap.

It's not out of the question, he's one of those roosters that has been really good until that incident. Just to be clear, he was like 2 feet away from that pullet and never actually got close to her, but he definitely had his feet out. He has never hurt another chicken, even after they've been together for almost 2 months now. I will be watching him like a hawk.

 

[aart]

Just to be clear, he was like 2 feet away from that pullet and never actually got close to her

Oh, so he just jumped up with feet out but was still 2 feet away?

 

[cheeseycheese]

Oh, so he just jumped up with feet out but was still 2 feet away?

Correct, he did not lunge at her. I saw him with 4 of the 5 gems eating from the same food container yesterday, so I thought they were all getting along ok.

 

[JedJackson]

I have 18 hens.

The rooster is a tough one because he is good overall, so far he gestures but has never flown towards anything to actually inflict a wound. Like he flies up in the air with his feet out but does it like 2 feet away from his "target", he's never hurt another chicken, ever. Does that make sense?

That is odd behavior! I'm not sure why he would do that unless he was startled by something. I suppose just keep an eye on things and make decisions based on his future behavior. If he gets more aggressive to people or the pullets, then something will have to be done. And the same goes for the cockerels.