cockerel aggressive to flock mates

[kumokumo]

hello, i recently got some chicks from a straight run bin at the farm store. two ended up being male, and two ended up being female. the two males are bantam self blue d’uccles and the females are a bb oeg and a standard size silver laced polish. from when they were chicks, we always noticed that one of the blue d’uccles were pretty aggressive to the other flock mates, but now that they’re 2-3 months old, he’s started to crow and pull out feathers from his friends. i’ve seen him pull feathers out of all of them, he’ll bite them and chase them around. at first, i thought it was because the two cockerels were fighting, but this morning, he’s attacked everyone. there hasn’t been blood, but i’d rather take action now than later when he actually hurts the others. my parents have been thinking of culling him, since he’s always been aggressive. he’s not aggressive to people, maybe because he’s so little, but hes mean to all of his friends. do i have to cull him? i dont think i could rehome him, no one wants a mean rooster.

 

[thecatumbrella]

I'd cull him, immediately. Feather plucking is a line you do not cross. It puts your other birds at risk for serious injury (if he draws blood, the others will be attracted to the wound as well).

 

[LaFleche]

How much space do they have in their coop and run?

It sounds like he is feeling his hormones trying to mate and the pullets will need some more months to mature.

Do you want any males at all in your flock? If not try to rehome both cockerels and keep him separated from the other three until you can rehome or cull him.

 

[Ridgerunner]

How much space do they have in their coop and run?

It sounds like he is feeling his hormones trying to mate and the pullets will need some more months to mature.

Do you want any males at all in your flock? If not try to rehome both cockerels and keep him separated from the other three until you can rehome or cull him.

Good post!

This type of behavior is not always due to lack of space but that is often a contributor. In feet or meters, how much room do they have in the coop and in the run?

I've had some successes and a few failures isolating an aggressor away from the flock for a few days. You can try that to see if it helps. If that does not work I think your options are to deal with it as it is or to do something about keeping him away from the others.

 

[kumokumo]

How much space do they have in their coop and run?

It sounds like he is feeling his hormones trying to mate and the pullets will need some more months to mature.

Do you want any males at all in your flock? If not try to rehome both cockerels and keep him separated from the other three until you can rehome or cull him.

they have a little pen to sleep in at night. during the day, they free range in our backyard, albeit our backyard is still split in half because we’re still trying to introduce them to the rest of our flock slowly. they have more than enough space, so i know space isn’t the issue. i’m fine with having roosters, i just don’t want the roosters to fight. we already have another rooster in our main flock, but he’s also pretty aggressive with the new chicks, and he hasn’t shown any improvement in a month so we might rehome him too. do you think he will stay aggressive? i have 3 hens in our main flock, so we’d have 5 hens in total.

Good post!

This type of behavior is not always due to lack of space but that is often a contributor. In feet or meters, how much room do they have in the coop and in the run?

I've had some successes and a few failures isolating an aggressor away from the flock for a few days. You can try that to see if it helps. If that does not work I think your options are to deal with it as it is or to do something about keeping him away from the others.

they have a cage to sleep in at night. we’ve been having predator attacks lately so they are moved into a 1 ft x 3 ft cage to sleep in, that’s placed inside the big chicken’s coop. they aren’t fully integrated yet so they sleep in that small blocked off area. they are very small, i am still able to pick one up with one hand, and that is only temporary until they’re integrated. the chicken coop is about 12 ft x 3 ft, with high roosting bars but they don’t stay in there during the day. they free roam in our yard, we split the yard in half so they have about equal amounts of space. the section of the yard they mainly stay in is about 20 ft by 12 ft (i’m eyeballing it). so should i isolate him for a couple of days and see if his demeanor changes? or do they not have enough space ? i think this should be a big enough space for them. my standard size chickens don’t have a problem with the space, either.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I assume the attacks take place outside as well as inside? For four chickens that should be more than enough space. I'd try isolating him for a few days to see how that goes.

i dont think i could rehome him, no one wants a mean rooster.

This may be your guide as to the best action to take if it doesn't work out.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

How much space do they have in their coop and run?

It sounds like he is feeling his hormones trying to mate and the pullets will need some more months to mature.

Do you want any males at all in your flock? If not try to rehome both cockerels and keep him separated from the other three until you can rehome or cull him.

I have a male 15weeks. He has his own coop within the coop. He does a look but don't touch. It's going okay but when they free range, he always goes after 1 golden buff that is partially disabled. Could I keep him seperated forever? Thank you

 

[LaFleche]

I have a male 15weeks. He has his own coop within the coop. He does a look but don't touch. It's going okay but when they free range, he always goes after 1 golden buff that is partially disabled. Could I keep him seperated forever? Thank you

Do you have some other adult hens you could add him to? They would teach him manners in no time, but the disabled buff is his preferred victim because she will be the easiest to force himself on.

I personally would not keep a young cockerel in solitary confinement for month in hopes that his behaviour might change once the pullets come into lay.

 

[kumokumo]

I assume the attacks take place outside as well as inside? For four chickens that should be more than enough space. I'd try isolating him for a few days to see how that goes.


This may be your guide as to the best action to take if it doesn't work out.

i don’t think they attack each other in the coop, because they’re usually sleeping or eating, but maybe during the night they might bite each other ? i see it most often during the day, he’ll chase everyone and bite and rip feathers. i feel like now he’s eyeing me as his next target lol. i’ll set up a small enclosure for him soon and separate him, if not i probably have to cull him

 

[CascadiaRiver]

Having two boys for 5 hens is not a good ratio long term. Unless this is the cockerel from the two that you really wanted to keep, I'd take this as a sign that this cockerel is not going to be a good fit as he can't play nice