Can I have a bantam rooster with large hens?

[mowin]

With a normal flock of all mature hens you should have enough room. I don't think overcrowding is the problem. It often is.

I don't know what other experiences you have had but I think your main problem is that the BR is a brute. I don't know how vicious her attacks are but she is the dominant hen and will not accept any challenges (real or perceived) to that dominance. Occasionally you get a chicken, rooster or hen, that relies on violence to keep their dominant position instead of relying more on their personality.

That broody hen does not want to be bothered by the other hens when she is off the nest. She is probably not giving the dominant hen the deference she wants. Or maybe when you take her off the nest you toss her in a way that the BR feels under threat. Again, I don't know how vicious her attacks are or what has gone in in the past.

So what do you do? I always try to solve for the peace of the flock. If one chicken is consistently disrupting that then that chicken is gone. Sometimes it might be the one that is getting picked on if that is consistent. More often it is the one doing the bullying. Most people don't like this approach but it is highly effective.

You can try isolating the bully. Keep her somewhere separated from the flock for a week or so until she loses her dominant status. When she is reintroduced she will have to work out her new pecking order status. Sometimes this really calms down the flock on a long term basis. It may be violent when you put her back. I've had some success changing flock dynamics by isolating a chicken like this but it does not always work.

The last thing I'd do in a volatile situation is add another chicken. With living animals you never know what will happen. it might actually help. But I'd not risk it. Plus, just because you think you'd be OK with the crow of one specific bantam rooster at 4:30 in the morning doesn't mean they will all sound like that.

If you really want to break that broody, use a broody buster. Lock her in an elevated wire-bottomed pen or crate so air can get under her. Give her food and water but nothing she can use as a nest. Leave her in there for 72 hours, then let her out. She should be broken. If not, toss her back in for another round.

Good luck!

As soon as I put the broody down, the BR will come running. Gonna try pinless peepers on her again. Seemed to work the last time for a bit.

 

[ChookieG]

Bantam rooster is fine with large hens. The only thing you have to worry about is, if you want him to fertilize eggs for hatching. He may be to small, to mount the large hens. Which means , the eggs will not get fertilized because, he won’t be able to mate. Although, he will continue to try, it will not effect egg production at all.

Mowin, did you manage to get fertilized eggs in the end? I just introduced a small cockerel to my hens who are almost double in size to him and was wondering the same. I don't wanna give him up just yet as he's such a darling.

 

[mowin]

I struggle with the decision to get a rooster or not. I ended up building another coop and run for my one bullied hen and got 5 pullets to keep her company.

 

[Aapomp831]

Bantam rooster is fine with large hens. The only thing you have to worry about is, if you want him to fertilize eggs for hatching. He may be to small, to mount the large hens. Which means , the eggs will not get fertilized because, he won’t be able to mate. Although, he will continue to try, it will not effect egg production at all.

Definitely not! I have had several hatches where the dads were bantam partridge Cochin and a cubalaya.... ridiculously small birds but they had no problem hopping up there and taking care of business. They hatch the cutest medium sized chickens.

 

[ChookieG]

I struggle with the decision to get a rooster or not. I ended up building another coop and run for my one bullied hen and got 5 pullets to keep her company.

Thanks for your reply. I've contacted the breeder to swap my cute little cockerel with a bigger one as he was bullied by hell by my large hens! Grrrrrggghh!! Hopefully things will be better then. *fingers crossed*

Here's the little batam boy.. I love his crinkled comb!

 

[mowin]

Thanks for your reply. I've contacted the breeder to swap my cute little cockerel with a bigger one as he was bullied by hell by my large hens! Grrrrrggghh!! Hopefully things will be better then. *fingers crossed*

That was my fear. My hens were brutal with this one hen. I figured if I introduced a small rooster, the same thing would happen.
Lucky, both my flocks are doing well. Would like to get them together in a large run off the back of the coops, but I'm worried there would be fighting. My plan is if I get a hen that is just a b!#€h, she'll be bbq really fast.

 

[ChookieG]

That was my fear. My hens were brutal with this one hen. I figured if I introduced a small rooster, the same thing would happen.
Lucky, both my flocks are doing well. Would like to get them together in a large run off the back of the coops, but I'm worried there would be fighting. My plan is if I get a hen that is just a b!#€h, she'll be bbq really fast.

I believe there will be a reshuffling of the pecking order if you combine them in a new run. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad if you did that as there would be 2 groups fighting it out instead of just one newbie being picked on.

The breeder is bringing a big boy over tomorrow morning. He's suppose to be the alpha as he roosts on the top spot in the coop. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[ChookieG]

I believe there will be a reshuffling of the pecking order if you combine them in a new run. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad if you did that as there would be 2 groups fighting it out instead of just one newbie being picked on.

The breeder is bringing a big boy over tomorrow morning. He's suppose to be the alpha as he roosts on the top spot in the coop. I'll let you know how it goes.

So the new big Roo arrived on the 29th March, a couple of days later as a swap with the smaller bantam-sized Roo. The breeder said it may take a while before things get moving but..

...I released him into the coop adjoining the run, he strutted out into the run where the girls were gathered in a group. The first of the two most aggressive girls went forward to investigate and Big Roo stepped back and made a warning call (?).. sounded like a low bass trumpet - boo boo bo boooo.. He stood about a head taller.. then she charged forward and he stood a couple of steps backwards, surprised. No sooner had this happened, he immediately stepped forward and raised his spurs at her and they fought it out for about 30 secs and she retreated having been beaten.

A few seconds later, the second (and meanest) girl went forward. She charged at him and he charged back, she charged again and he bull-rammed her and then used his spurs and stepped on her. She ran off.. also after being beaten.

There was another scuffle between him and the first female challenger a couple of hours later and that was the end. He had acquired alpha position. Three days later, all my eggs had a bullseye.

Lessons learnt: 1. Don't get a bantam rooster for much larger nasty bad-ass hens. 2. To keep peace and order amongst bad girls, get a much larger male (known alpha if possible) from the breeder.

 

[SkieHummingbird]

Give it a shot, let us know how it works out.
I don't put a lot of stock in a cock/erel keeping the peace,
especially if it involves a low hen that everyone is beating on.

Hi there , I’ve put a bantam cockerel in with my regular hens and it’s been great. We even added 4 more hens to the flock and not a single squabble.. it’s been great and very peaceful . He only doodles in the morning and to be honest it’s not that loud ..