Last year our hens hatched a chick, turned out to be a cockerel. Our flock consisted of 5 hens & 1 rooster all 4 years old. This past April, when cockerel was now a 1 year old rooster, several hens had broken feathers on their back. My husband witnessed the older rooster driving the young one away, then very aggressively mating with a hen. Huh, we thought, it must be the older one who's become aggressive...so he was culled.
Wrong decision. Young rooster was very aggressive with the hens. He's also aggressive with us, charges us with spurs. We always have a wooden rake (as for raking leaves) with us when dealing with him.
We separated the young rooster, by keeping him in a separate 'big' yard which has high fencing but is open overhead (there are trees and some old glass doors that are angled out for shelter) during the day, the hens are kept in the adjacent 'little' yard which includes the coop and is protected on all sides as well as above. After we have enclosed the hens in the coop for the night, we let the rooster in the little yard so he's better protected from raccoons and owls. In this way, the rooster can see and hear the hens all day, he's on the other side of wire fencing, but can't touch them.
We did this for a few weeks, then let them all together again. The young rooster continued to be aggressive. We had 1 hen who seemed terrified of him - she hid in the coop. When she came out for food & water, young rooster would go after her. If she couldn't get away, she would cower low on the ground, I could see her whole body shaking. With another hen he was so aggressive, he ripped her comb off her head. We separated him again...it's been about 4 weeks now.
Meantime, we have 5 pullets, they should start laying in August. We have them in their own little coop, in their own protected little yard, and access / intermingling with the now 5 year old hens via a pop door between the 2 little yards.
The only reason we keep rooster at this point is for predator protection. I understand at 1 year old he's got raging hormones....but is there any reason to believe those will calm down enough for him to be a gentlemen with the girls within the next few months? Keeping them separate like this isn't giving the hens any protection. I question the point of keeping him.
Wrong decision. Young rooster was very aggressive with the hens. He's also aggressive with us, charges us with spurs. We always have a wooden rake (as for raking leaves) with us when dealing with him.
We separated the young rooster, by keeping him in a separate 'big' yard which has high fencing but is open overhead (there are trees and some old glass doors that are angled out for shelter) during the day, the hens are kept in the adjacent 'little' yard which includes the coop and is protected on all sides as well as above. After we have enclosed the hens in the coop for the night, we let the rooster in the little yard so he's better protected from raccoons and owls. In this way, the rooster can see and hear the hens all day, he's on the other side of wire fencing, but can't touch them.
We did this for a few weeks, then let them all together again. The young rooster continued to be aggressive. We had 1 hen who seemed terrified of him - she hid in the coop. When she came out for food & water, young rooster would go after her. If she couldn't get away, she would cower low on the ground, I could see her whole body shaking. With another hen he was so aggressive, he ripped her comb off her head. We separated him again...it's been about 4 weeks now.
Meantime, we have 5 pullets, they should start laying in August. We have them in their own little coop, in their own protected little yard, and access / intermingling with the now 5 year old hens via a pop door between the 2 little yards.
The only reason we keep rooster at this point is for predator protection. I understand at 1 year old he's got raging hormones....but is there any reason to believe those will calm down enough for him to be a gentlemen with the girls within the next few months? Keeping them separate like this isn't giving the hens any protection. I question the point of keeping him.
