Cockerel Issue

[Crazychickenmama8]

Hello All!!,
I currently have 6 four year old hens, 2 two year old hens and 1 pullet and a cockerel that are about to be 5 months old. I have never had a cockerel before so I know nothing about them. He gets checked by some of my old hens but there are two older hens that just won’t stand up to him and are his targets. He runs after then frequently to try to mate with them. One of the hens is my favorite, an EE which is one of my best layers. She was just so happy before him, lol. Will this behavior pass? Should I worry? Should I just get rid of him? I don’t want her to be stressed about where he is all the time. They free range in my back yard so there’s more than enough room to escape or go near her sisters for protection. What should I do? Please help!!

 

[50-45-1]

Young cocks grow to mature roosters better when they are constantly humbled and "put in there place" by an older rooster or hens
Your poor hens are not up to that and he is going all out randy teenager on them and may injure, harass and start de-feathering these hens
Personally, I would not tolerate it for a minute more.
I would cull this guy and look for a seasoned gentleman rooster that will focus on flock protection and service instead of this mate-them -to-death monster.
At least separate him to a different cage until you make up your mind what your next step will be.
Good luck.

 

[Crazychickenmama8]

Okay, thank you. I will separate him till I can get rid of him. Do you think there’s a chance he will change and get better?

 

[50-45-1]

Others may give you technics and processes that they say work. You can spend a lot of time to try them...
BUT, in my experience no, they dont change. They may mellow with age but sometimes not.
There are lots of kind gentleman rooster out there being culled all the time.

 

[Crazychickenmama8]

Great. Thank you. One more question, sorry for all the questions, if I ever want to have a rooster, how and when will I know if he is going to be a good rooster?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Sometimes the cockerels force the hens to mate, sometimes the hens beat the cockerel up, and sometimes things stay pretty peaceful. At his age he is an immature cockerel with his hormones going crazy. Typically when he matures things calm down tremendously (that is a mature flock) but that can be a process getting there. He has to mature and all the hens have to accept his dominance when he does mature. Sometimes the dominant hen especially can be very resistant about giving up her flock dominance roll though usually she's not a big problem. To me this is just part of the dynamics of a mixed age mixed sex flock. As long as nobody gets hurt it doesn't bother me. It's just chickens being chickens. But I do watch to see if any of them are actually being injured.

Why do you want a rooster? The only reason you need a rooster is if you want fertile eggs, anything else is personal preference. Nothing wrong with personal preference, I have a few myself. But those ae wants, not needs.

My general recommendation is to keep as few males as you can to meet your goals. That's not because you are guaranteed problems with males but the more you have the more likely you are to have problems. I don't know what your goals are but it is likely your correct number of boys is zero.

 

[Studabird]

I have a similar problem when my young man turned a certain age. He was in the process of really injuring a pullet. I separated him from all the pullets until they had been laying for a while and put him in with a group of hens called the Amazon’s formerly known as the mean girls. Two RIR and a Golden Comet. They put him in his place real quick and he is now the nicest rooster ever. So if you have some “Don’t take no crap” Hens they could calm him down

 

[Yardmom]

From your post I don't see any reason to remove your rooster. Mating is what roosters do to hens. It may take some time for your hens and you to adjust, but unless he is physically hurting them just let them be.

 

[LizzzyJo]

Okay, thank you. I will separate him till I can get rid of him. Do you think there’s a chance he will change and get better?

If you're not a vegetarian and you've never taken the plunge in culling/eating, this may be your moment. It will be hard to rehome him to a place where they are not simply going to eat him. Certainly not impossible, but it will take longer. I would sort out how much time and expense - and his loneliness - will be created with his separation.

I haven't had a huge amount of experience with roosters (only 5), but I haven't personally been able to tame one that was set out to rough up hens.

 

[Crazychickenmama8]

Okay, I am willing to try but will keep an eye out. How long should I give it for things to settle down?