Do all roos have favorite girls?

[Chickassan]

Lol, those are some hard women.
The eldest dominique here fought my poor Faverolles guy like a man for nearly five months and didn't serve him dessert for close to a year.
He has since passed on but his son inherited the good fight.
I have one chick from her, really almost gave up lol.
Never in my life seen an ice queen hen before she joined the flock.

Crazy! I have one Dominique and i don't think he's had a turn with her. She's next to the top. My Speckled Sussex made his comb bleed the first time she met him. Bit him right through the poultry netting. I couldn't believe it! She's top dog though.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Part of the problem is that you don't have a rooster, you have an immature cockerel. His hormones are running wild and telling him to take over the flock, to be the flock master. He does that by mating. At that age mating is not about fertilizing the eggs but is about dominance. The one on the bottom is accepting the dominance of the one on top, either willingly or by force.

While your girls aren't quite a year old they are laying and acting like mature hens. While some mature hens will squat for anything in spurs (even if he doesn't have any spurs yet) others are more particular. They want a mate that acts like they will be a good father for their chicks. The dominant rooster has a lot of responsibilities in taking care of his flock. Immature cockerels usually can't handle that so they don't impress all of the hens. I don't know what their mating looks like or how rough it is, but I suspect this might be playing a part. Your BA is resisting him and he is getting rough.

If she is resisting him more than the others, this may be why he seems to have singled her out. He wants to make an example of her, if he can win her over by brute force it may make it easier with the others. I'd expect this behavior to be more about the hens in the top of the pecking order, usually the dominant hen. Since your BA is in the middle it doesn't sound right that she would be the only one he is singling out. A mature rooster usually wins the girls over by the strength of his personality and his obvious magnificence. An immature cockerel usually doesn't have what it takes to pull that off.

Part of the mating act is the male grabbing the girl's head. That is instinctive. The head grab is the signal for the hen to raise her tail up put of the way so he can hit the target. There would be no fertile eggs without the head grab. Usually with consenting adults that's not a big deal, no harm done. But if she is resisting him he may be getting pretty forceful. The head grab can also be a way to control her. So this may play a part in why she is getting bald. An immature cockerel doesn't always have the best technique either, that usually gets better as he matures.

Some chickens have "brittle feathers". That's caused by a nutritional imbalance, usually by how their body processes those nutrients, not because you are not feeding them right. I don't think this is it. When I've seen this the loss of feathers was on the hen's back where his claws grab them, not up around the head. I'll mention it just in case you see some evidence of that. During mating it's normal to see an occasional feather come off so don't panic too easily but bald spots are not good. With immature cockerels you are more likely to see missing feathers than with a mature rooster.

The danger from a bald spot on her back is that his claws may cut her. The danger of a bald spot on her head is that his beak may cut her. A cut would is not good. In addition to a possible point of infection chickens can be cannibals. If they see blood or an open wound they may start pecking it to eat. Chickens die because of that.

In my opinion the girls have something to say about flock dynamics, it's not just the boys. Each chicken has its own personality, just adding or removing one chicken can change the flock dynamics, whether that one chicken is a boy or a girl. And it is possible one can develop an intense dislike toward one individual chicken. That difference in personality is part of what makes them so much fun but it can also lead to some pretty dramatic moments I'd rather do without.

Wondering if I need to try another roo

I don't think so because you don't have a rooster now. You have an immature cockerel. He needs to mature. If you had asked before you got him many of us would have suggested you get a mature rooster, not an immature cockerel. That usually goes so much better. I'll suggest two options if you really want a rooster. You can isolate that girl from the flock for a while to give him a chance to mature. It is possible he will behave OK with the rest of the flock. As he matures he should gain better control of his hormones and she may be more willing to accept him. So see how he gets along with the rest of the flock. It's possible they will be OK. Then add her back in after things have settled down and see how it goes.

The one I prefer though is to isolate him until he matures. Since your BA is laying that does not teach her to lay somewhere else. I'd suggest isolating him for at least a month before you try again. That may not be enough time so you may need to try isolating him again. Go by what you see to make your decisions.

I guess another option is to get rid of him and bring in a mature rooster, one to two years old. The odds of that going well are pretty good. Since you are dealing with living animals no one can give you a guarantee as to what will actually happen, each chicken has its own personality. But some things are more likely to work than others.

Good luck!

 

[cmom]

You have been given a lot of good advice. Some of my fellows have favorites. Maybe move the favorite so he doesn't have access to her, if you can, and let her recover somewhat. Good luck and have fun...

 

[spruett386]

Part of the problem is that you don't have a rooster, you have an immature cockerel. His hormones are running wild and telling him to take over the flock, to be the flock master. He does that by mating. At that age mating is not about fertilizing the eggs but is about dominance. The one on the bottom is accepting the dominance of the one on top, either willingly or by force.

While your girls aren't quite a year old they are laying and acting like mature hens. While some mature hens will squat for anything in spurs (even if he doesn't have any spurs yet) others are more particular. They want a mate that acts like they will be a good father for their chicks. The dominant rooster has a lot of responsibilities in taking care of his flock. Immature cockerels usually can't handle that so they don't impress all of the hens. I don't know what their mating looks like or how rough it is, but I suspect this might be playing a part. Your BA is resisting him and he is getting rough.

If she is resisting him more than the others, this may be why he seems to have singled her out. He wants to make an example of her, if he can win her over by brute force it may make it easier with the others. I'd expect this behavior to be more about the hens in the top of the pecking order, usually the dominant hen. Since your BA is in the middle it doesn't sound right that she would be the only one he is singling out. A mature rooster usually wins the girls over by the strength of his personality and his obvious magnificence. An immature cockerel usually doesn't have what it takes to pull that off.

Part of the mating act is the male grabbing the girl's head. That is instinctive. The head grab is the signal for the hen to raise her tail up put of the way so he can hit the target. There would be no fertile eggs without the head grab. Usually with consenting adults that's not a big deal, no harm done. But if she is resisting him he may be getting pretty forceful. The head grab can also be a way to control her. So this may play a part in why she is getting bald. An immature cockerel doesn't always have the best technique either, that usually gets better as he matures.

Some chickens have "brittle feathers". That's caused by a nutritional imbalance, usually by how their body processes those nutrients, not because you are not feeding them right. I don't think this is it. When I've seen this the loss of feathers was on the hen's back where his claws grab them, not up around the head. I'll mention it just in case you see some evidence of that. During mating it's normal to see an occasional feather come off so don't panic too easily but bald spots are not good. With immature cockerels you are more likely to see missing feathers than with a mature rooster.

The danger from a bald spot on her back is that his claws may cut her. The danger of a bald spot on her head is that his beak may cut her. A cut would is not good. In addition to a possible point of infection chickens can be cannibals. If they see blood or an open wound they may start pecking it to eat. Chickens die because of that.

In my opinion the girls have something to say about flock dynamics, it's not just the boys. Each chicken has its own personality, just adding or removing one chicken can change the flock dynamics, whether that one chicken is a boy or a girl. And it is possible one can develop an intense dislike toward one individual chicken. That difference in personality is part of what makes them so much fun but it can also lead to some pretty dramatic moments I'd rather do without.

Wondering if I need to try another roo

I don't think so because you don't have a rooster now. You have an immature cockerel. He needs to mature. If you had asked before you got him many of us would have suggested you get a mature rooster, not an immature cockerel. That usually goes so much better. I'll suggest two options if you really want a rooster. You can isolate that girl from the flock for a while to give him a chance to mature. It is possible he will behave OK with the rest of the flock. As he matures he should gain better control of his hormones and she may be more willing to accept him. So see how he gets along with the rest of the flock. It's possible they will be OK. Then add her back in after things have settled down and see how it goes.

The one I prefer though is to isolate him until he matures. Since your BA is laying that does not teach her to lay somewhere else. I'd suggest isolating him for at least a month before you try again. That may not be enough time so you may need to try isolating him again. Go by what you see to make your decisions.

I guess another option is to get rid of him and bring in a mature rooster, one to two years old. The odds of that going well are pretty good. Since you are dealing with living animals no one can give you a guarantee as to what will actually happen, each chicken has its own personality. But some things are more likely to work than others.

Good luck!

Wow... thank you for the advice. I know a guy who has many older roos to choose from. Honestly, more than fertilization, I need a roo as a lookout. Someone to spot hawks. I think I'm going to swap him out for an older roo. The quarantine time should give my BA some time to recover from the trauma. I should have a good pick of breeds and ages. That will be a bonus.

 

[spruett386]

Wow... thank you for the advice. I know a guy who has many older roos to choose from. Honestly, more than fertilization, I need a roo as a lookout. Someone to spot hawks. I think I'm going to swap him out for an older roo. The quarantine time should give my BA some time to recover from the trauma. I should have a good pick of breeds and ages. That will be a bonus.

Is a bantam roo a good option or should i go Standard for my all-standard flock?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Is a bantam roo a good option or should i go Standard for my all-standard flock?

I'd stick with a standard. Bantams will give funky sized chicks and might not be the best guard

 

[spruett386]

Thanks for the tip!

 

[cmom]

Wow... thank you for the advice. I know a guy who has many older roos to choose from. Honestly, more than fertilization, I need a roo as a lookout. Someone to spot hawks. I think I'm going to swap him out for an older roo. The quarantine time should give my BA some time to recover from the trauma. I should have a good pick of breeds and ages. That will be a bonus.

Also, not all males make good protectors and can also be killed by aerial predators. Lesson learned the hard way. Good luck...

 

[Duckbreeder2020]

Do all roos have favorite girls that they peck the crap out of or is that just some? Wondering if I need to try another roo... My poor BA is getting all her neck feathers pulled out and it's only day 3 since he has been in the flock.

Mine used to! So I think so? It might just be some Roos as well!

 

[cmom]

Some of my males have favorites and some don't.