Cockerel aggressive towards pullet

[Farmbabies]

It may be nothing but I was hoping for some thoughts from those more experienced with chickens. My two Cochin cockerels (11 weeks) were having a bit of a showdown with each other when we went to put them in the coop tonight. I have a clear dominant cockerel and the second place boy.

As they were going in the coop my non dominant cockerel grabbed a pullet by the neck and just held on. It startled me and I made noise in his direction and he let her go and they went in the coop.

Is this normal behavior or do I need to be watching this cockerel more closely?

 

[keesmom]

Cockerels are sexually mature before the pullets. He's ready to start breeding, but the pullets are not. If you plan on keeping them you may have to toss them in jail for a while, until the pullets are ready for their attentions.

 

[Mrs. K]

This is the rough time, especially if there are no older birds in the flock. Cockerels can be very hard on pullets as stated above, the pullets are not interested, so they become more aggressive to have their way.

A lot of people pull out the roosters chicks into a bachelor quarters about this age period, because it can get rather ugly. A lot depends on the space you have, the number of birds you have, and if you have hide outs, platforms, roosts in the run.

So this is normal behavior, and it is apt to get quite a bit rougher, both between the boys and between the boys and girls. Some people can overlook it, some people can't. It can be hard on the birds.

Mrs K