Bully Rooster

[kguinness76]

Hello, I am hoping for some help. In April I bought 6 pullets, one turned out to be a cockerel. I was ok with having a Roo to protect my hens, but now I am noticing some behaviors that I am not particularly thrilled about. He has been biting them, I know this is a normal, part of the mating process; however, he is pulling feathers out when he does it. The most concerning thing I witnessed this morning was when I let them out for the coop into the run, he came out first, again perfectly normal, he comes out first and goes in last everyday; however, I had put some cracked corn down in the run as a treat, and he chased my girls back into the coop so he could eat all the corn. My hens seem afraid of him, they run from him all the time. My hens have not started laying yet, and won't for 2 more months, but I don't want them to be stressed by the Rooster and not lay any eggs. Could someone please tell me if I am being a over concerned mother hen or if this is something I should be concerned about?

Thanks

 

[Toddrick]

He is just young still, so he hasn't got things figured out yet. However I'd watch the feather pulling. It is normal to grab the back of their necks when mating, and (especially for young cockerels) to pull some hair out. If he is just pecking them for any other reason then that sounds like a problem. He should start doing the opposite with food soon, letting the girls eat while he guards, instead of hogging it.

 

[torilovessmiles]

He is just young still, so he hasn't got things figured out yet. However I'd watch the feather pulling. It is normal to grab the back of their necks when mating, and (especially for young cockerels) to pull some hair out. If he is just pecking them for any other reason then that sounds like a problem. He should start doing the opposite with food soon, letting the girls eat while he guards, instead of hogging it.

x2
Adult roosters normally don't mate anything but actively laying hens, but cockerels are confused and full of hormones. Pullets at this age also don't know how to react to being mated, because they have not entered sexual maturity, making it even more sloppy. Eventually he should also start doing a "sharing" behavior where he picks up food, drops it, and makes a series of high-pitched sounds to tell his girls to come eat!

 

[kguinness76]

Thank you both for your input. I will definitely keep an eye on him. I hope he grows out of it, I have gotten used to him "singing".

 

[Folly's place]

It's easier to raise cockrels in a flock with adult hens and roosters, who correct the young idiots as needed. He's just acting like the teenager he is right now, and needs more time to mature. Any aggression towards you would be a very big problem, though. Mary

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Hello, I am hoping for some help. In April I bought 6 pullets, one turned out to be a cockerel. I was ok with having a Roo to protect my hens, but now I am noticing some behaviors that I am not particularly thrilled about. He has been biting them, I know this is a normal, part of the mating process; however, he is pulling feathers out when he does it. The most concerning thing I witnessed this morning was when I let them out for the coop into the run, he came out first, again perfectly normal, he comes out first and goes in last everyday; however, I had put some cracked corn down in the run as a treat, and he chased my girls back into the coop so he could eat all the corn. My hens seem afraid of him, they run from him all the time. My hens have not started laying yet, and won't for 2 more months, but I don't want them to be stressed by the Rooster and not lay any eggs. Could someone please tell me if I am being a over concerned mother hen or if this is something I should be concerned about?

Thanks

I want to remind you that a young cockerel is not a rooster. A mature rooster should and will call his lady friends and encourage them to eat any food that he finds even to the point of doing without himself. You wouldn't call a 12 year old girl a woman or a 13 year old boy a man. Neither are adolescent chickens hens and roosters. They first have to mature and grow up.

 

[torilovessmiles]

I want to remind you that a young cockerel is not a rooster. A mature rooster should and will call his lady friends and encourage them to eat any food that he finds even to the point of doing without himself. You wouldn't call a 12 year old girl a woman or a 13 year old boy a man. Neither are adolescent chickens hens and roosters. They first have to mature and grow up.

Sort of. The correct term for an adult male chicken is technically a "cock" and an adolescent is a "cockerel." Rooster is accepted as a term for an adult, but in some places it includes both cocks and cockerels.