cockerel hates hens?

[JustAChickenLoverOverHere]

yes i know they trick them, he uses his spurs on them which worries me. i have raised a lot of roosters before, have never seen this before. just like the way two chickens fight for dominance. The females will squat down or even lay down on their sides from panic sometimes. when they do this he will continue until they finally run away. I don't want to put too much stress on my hens (especially my old hen) is this normal?.

Scaring and forcing pullets/hens into breeding is not what a good rooster does. I would get rid of him.

 

[Diveks]

He doesn’t seem to be a good rooster. Usually, flocks will have older hens (not too old, maybe three 1-3 year olds) to keep a young cockerel in place.

It doesn’t always work, but it’s how most cockerels learn their place and earn the respect/right to mate the hens in certain flocks.

i do have one 4 year old hen who challenged him when he was first introduced. she was the most dominant hen in the flock even when i had my old roo. the first few days the cockerel was introduced she picked on him. but then after around day 3 he has had enough and decided to fight back and won. after that day he started bullying all the other chickens, and wouldn't let them get to the food. thats the day i started the thread.

Scaring and forcing pullets/hens into breeding is not what a good rooster does. I would get rid of him.

i might be forced to seperate him. i did raise him so this is one chicken i might not be able to get rid of. im worried he will just cause stress on the hens.

 

[Birdsonghill]

You have to be the judge! If you think he is too much for you and your hens to handle, remove him! Even though ,sometimes, the rooster that has the best attributes for appearance of his breed, he may be too overtly, aggressive or not effective as a Stud, either way, it may go! A rough rooster is not necessarily, a "mean" rooster, he may be an effective rooster that makes the best offspring. If he continues to injure hens, a separate coop is in order, if not a frying pan! I have had "bad" boys settle down and be a great rooster, creating a reliable source of fertile eggs. What you see, know and feel is the key factor! It can be hard for humans to watch a healthy , vigorous and effective rooster have sex, without thinking it is an attack! They don't cuddle and woo the hens, they force them to the ground and holding them down by the neck have at them. Loosing a couple feathers is more typical than not, for a hen being mated. Different groups of chickens will not be all identical in behavior! If one has enough hens to keep a vigorous young rooster happy, it helps spread the wear and tear around on the girls. It is a good practice to have at least 5 or 6 hens or better, 8 to 10 hens per rooster, when kept together. After a while they usually do fine, once they exhaust themselves , a week or two, tying to control and mate all them daily! A Casper , milk toast, passive rooster makes a great pet! On occasion they might be OK as a breeder., but often, not so great! Controlled breeding in a separate pen with a few hens is a good idea, but one must often use a hen saddle and or remove the rooster soon after he hits on them a time or two, to prevent excessive wear and tear on the hens! Some breeds tend to have more roosters, that are less aggressive and still may be effective at passing their good genes. Some roosters are ok with their own breed but may injure smaller birds/breeds. too much! Anything is possible, you have to make that call! Good luck and enjoy the learning experiences and the rewards of being a Chicken keeper!

 

[Diveks]

You have to be the judge! If you think he is too much for you and your hens to handle, remove him! Even though ,sometimes, the rooster that has the best attributes for appearance of his breed, he may be too overtly, aggressive or not effective as a Stud, either way, it may go! A rough rooster is not necessarily, a "mean" rooster, he may be an effective rooster that makes the best offspring. If he continues to injure hens, a separate coop is in order, if not a frying pan! I have had "bad" boys settle down and be a great rooster, creating a reliable source of fertile eggs. What you see, know and feel is the key factor! It can be hard for humans to watch a healthy , vigorous and effective rooster have sex, without thinking it is an attack! They don't cuddle and woo the hens, they force them to the ground and holding them down by the neck have at them. Loosing a couple feathers is more typical than not, for a hen being mated. Different groups of chickens will not be all identical in behavior! If one has enough hens to keep a vigorous young rooster happy, it helps spread the wear and tear around on the girls. It is a good practice to have at least 5 or 6 hens or better, 8 to 10 hens per rooster, when kept together. After a while they usually do fine, once they exhaust themselves , a week or two, tying to control and mate all them daily! A Casper , milk toast, passive rooster makes a great pet! On occasion they might be OK as a breeder., but often, not so great! Controlled breeding in a separate pen with a few hens is a good idea, but one must often use a hen saddle and or remove the rooster soon after he hits on them a time or two, to prevent excessive wear and tear on the hens! Some breeds tend to have more roosters, that are less aggressive and still may be effective at passing their good genes. Some roosters are ok with their own breed but may injure smaller birds/breeds. too much! Anything is possible, you have to make that call! Good luck and enjoy the learning experiences and the rewards of being a Chicken keeper!

he really is a sweet roo, but to people... sitting on people's laps for pets. when it comes to other chickens he uses his spurs on them. i let him be for awhile since he didn't have spurs but as hes getting older his spurs are coming in. ive had a rough roo (my old hen that is now terrified of this roo used to be with this one), i had really fertile hatches while some of the hens had bald backs they were never terrified of the roo. For this roo they will stay at least 4 meters away from him. I have never seen the roo mate with the hens just bullying them, almost like how a hen would bully another one, i most likely havent missed it since they run free outside the window. i will be seperating him for awhile, keeping him as a pet. I might try introducing him in 3 or 6 months seeing if anything improves.