BITING!!!

[Free Rrange Farmer]

Hi, I have a six-month-old or so rooster who bites me whenever I go in the coop he never used to do it. he is a quiet calm rooster and extremely friendly as well.
It's like he's trying to mate with my foot he grabs my ankle and scratches at my feet almost like roosters do to hens.
I don't know what could be the problem...
-New 6 week old hens?
-Another male in the flock?
-Not enough girls?
Please let me know how to train this out of him.

 

[LateBirdFarms]

It sounds like he's in the clutches of a hormonal shift, just like kids start acting out as they transition to teens, teens act out even more so as sexual attraction starts to mix into the soup, and the young adult who suddenly knows EVERYTHING... Roosters go through the same.

Is he quiet and calm other than these foot humping moments, and biting you in situations other than that? That's a cycle that will need to be broken.. though a more experienced roo keeper would have to be the one to give you help on how, I'm afraid I'm not able to help there.

Do you have another roo in the mix? And how many hens total? Are they split into seperate flocks? Ate your young pullets in with him?

 

[Free Rrange Farmer]

It sounds like he's in the clutches of a hormonal shift, just like kids start acting out as they transition to teens, teens act out even more so as sexual attraction starts to mix into the soup, and the young adult who suddenly knows EVERYTHING... Roosters go through the same.

Is he quiet and calm other than these foot humping moments, and biting you in situations other than that? That's a cycle that will need to be broken.. though a more experienced roo keeper would have to be the one to give you help on how, I'm afraid I'm not able to help there.

Do you have another roo in the mix? And how many hens total? Are they split into seperate flocks? Ate your young pullets in with him?

Yes, he is a very nice rooster exept during his moments. there is one other rooster but we have never had problems with the two they are best buddies. We only have 3 full grown hens due to predator attacks so we waited until we predator proofed the coop until we got more hens. Now the coop is all fixed so we bought the pullets to add to the flock. The pullets are in a separate pen to the fully grown chickens inside the coop. (Our Coop is a huge walk-in metal frame with metal and mesh around the outside and the pen the pullets are in is a timber coop inside it so that they can interact between the wire). (Like a tiny square inside another one)

 

[LateBirdFarms]

Are the two boys in with the 3 remaining big girls? I'd be really concerned about the two roos starting to battle it out at this age for the girls if they only have access to the 3.... but I've never kept a rooster long, so I don't know all the ins and outs, just the basics. If they've already established they're order, that might not be an issue, except perhaps the low man on the totem pole might be taking his frustrations out on you... Hopefully someone with more experience can help you out.. I'm afraid my advice would be full of worry and concern, and the only suggestion I have that's not tainted by mean rooster experiences

Best of luck! But I'll happily keep responding though to keep your question bumped up the list until someone with useful knowledge sees it

 

[Matejka]

How many pullets do you have?

 

[Free Rrange Farmer]

Are the two boys in with the 3 remaining big girls? I'd be really concerned about the two roos starting to battle it out at this age for the girls if they only have access to the 3.... but I've never kept a rooster long, so I don't know all the ins and outs, just the basics. If they've already established they're order, that might not be an issue, except perhaps the low man on the totem pole might be taking his frustrations out on you... Hopefully someone with more experience can help you out.. I'm afraid my advice would be full of worry and concern, and the only suggestion I have that's not tainted by mean rooster experiences

Best of luck! But I'll happily keep responding though to keep your question bumped up the list until someone with useful knowledge sees it

Thank you so much. Yes the boys are together with the three girls but they don't fight the only time they've had a quarrel was when we first introduced the second male but it only lasted a second or two then we've never had a worry since.

 

[Free Rrange Farmer]

How many pullets do you have?

We bought ten, so the boys would have enough girls when they all grow up

 

[aart]

We bought ten, so the boys would have enough girls when they all grow up

No guarantees there.

The 'rooster' to hen ratio of 1:10 that is often cited is primarily for fertility efficiency in commercial breeding facilities.

It doesn't mean that if a cockbird has 10 hens that he won't abuse or over mate them.

Many breeders keep pairs, trios, quads, etc ....short term and/or long term.

It all depends on the temperaments of the cock and hens and sometimes housing provided.

Backyard flocks can achieve good fertility with a larger ratio.

 

[Free Rrange Farmer]

Okay looks like we may need to buy more hens because I was lead to believe the ratio is 1:7. I am also incubating and hatching some eggs to introduce to the flock. but I will definitely keep that in mind...

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Have you considered keeping two seperate flocks?