Cockerel rounding up pullets?

[Wild Iris]

I'm new to chickens and have four 10-week-olds: two are OEGBantam pullets, one is a Starlight Egger pullet and one is a Starlight Cockered. All are from tractor supply.

Today I cleaned out their brooder/coop/cage and let them run around the screen porch while I changed the straw. This is the first time the two OEGB have been out on the porch, though the other two have been out several times. It was a big job to remove & replace the straw, and they ran around with much excitement and bursts of flight and flapping.

When all was done, I was watching them and wondering how I would get them back into their little home. After a few minutes of my sitting quietly, a couple of them had come over to me and then wandered off again. The cockerel began fluffing out his neck feathers and chasing the others. Soon he had chased all three to the open door of their little coop, then he hopped inside and began eating. The others followed him.

Was this a coincidence, or did he just round up the girls and tell them it was time to get back home? How did he know it was time to go back in--was he watching what I was doing? Did he understand? Is the round-up a pecking-order thing, or a male/female thing? Or was it all just an accident?

 

[aart]

Is the round-up a pecking-order thing, or a male/female thing? Or was it all just an accident?

Could be he was doing a 'rooster' thing.
Only time will tell.

 

[ChicNmom]

My very best rooster would occasionally walk the yard at bedtime, checking all the usual spots to make sure all the girls were in.

 

[Mrs. K]

At ten weeks - they need to be outside in a coop? How much space do they have? Sometimes when people are starting, in trying to keep them safe, they keep them in too small of an area.

There might be a situation that I didn't understand, and they are your chickens, so you understand best...but a lot of problem behavior might show up if they are over crowded, and I thought you should know.

Mrs K

 

[Wild Iris]

At ten weeks - they need to be outside in a coop? How much space do they have? Sometimes when people are starting, in trying to keep them safe, they keep them in too small of an area.

There might be a situation that I didn't understand, and they are your chickens, so you understand best...but a lot of problem behavior might show up if they are over crowded, and I thought you should know.

Mrs K

Thanks for being concerned about my chicks. I'm well aware of their need for space and I should be finished building their regular outside coop by the end of this next week. We keep a close eye on them for behavior problems while they are in a smaller space. I had never seen the fluffed neck-feathers or "rounding up" behavior before.