Dominique Thread!

[Alaskan]

I would guess that he hasn't crowed because of the move. New place, new chickens... It might take him a month to really feel comfortable.... Then he will crow.


Crowing is a bit of an "I am such a stud" thing. Right now he is feeling unsure of himself, ergo no crowing.

 

[islandgirl82]

Thank you! He seems quite comfortable already so I hope it doesn't take him too long to really feel settled in. My girls were surprisingly accepting of him. I expected a much more dramatic integration but it was nearly immediate, with the exception a very short lived spar with my top hen that she initiated.

 

[Turk Raphael]

Thank you! He seems quite comfortable already so I hope it doesn't take him too long to really feel settled in. My girls were surprisingly accepting of him. I expected a much more dramatic integration but it was nearly immediate, with the exception a very short lived spar with my top hen that she initiated.

One day, soon..er than you expect, he will burst out of that coop in the morning and neither you nor the hens will recognize him. When the testosterone kicks in, he will start leaping tall fences and molesting every hen or pullet within sight and he will crow enough to make up for lost time. Enjoy the quiet while you have it.

 

[islandgirl82]

Quote:
He's a 5 month old who's just moved in with hens ranging from 1.5 years to 7 years old. He'll have his work cut out for him to win them over, the majority of girls have spent most of their lives rooster-free and when I have had one around they avoided him like the plague. This new one hides behind me when the girls do nothing more than give him the cold hard stare-down. lol

 

[Turk Raphael]

He's a 5 month old who's just moved in with hens ranging from 1.5 years to 7 years old. He'll have his work cut out for him to win them over, the majority of girls have spent most of their lives rooster-free and when I have had one around they avoided him like the plague. This new one hides behind me when the girls do nothing more than give him the cold hard stare-down. lol

He's still a baby. Just you wait. When he gets more mature and begins to grab them by the head or neck and put them in their place, they will come around and be his greatest fans. This will come to pass unless he's a eunuch. (capon). Patience.

 

[islandgirl82]

Quote:
They already swarm him, he just doesn't know what to do with them yet but their egg production just kicked into super high gear since his arrival - even my 7 year old. He came from a flock of hens who were dubbed "murderous" by their keeper and those girls beat him relentlessly. He has not shown any of the stereotypical adolescent behavior that's so obnoxious and I suppose my hens and I have his old flock to thank for it.

 

[Faraday40]

Last spring we had to process our only roo when he turned aggressive. The spring chicks took time to grow up, so the top hens took control. One Orpington cockerel started crowing at 3 mo & mated the ADULT hens by 3.5 mo. (He ignored the pullets & spent most of his day following the hens around. I wondered why I kept seeing him in the coop.) It took me by surprise to see bull's eyes in the eggs since we didn't have a roo for over 4 months. At that time a broody stole some of the hens' eggs & sure enough, they were all fertile. The other roos took about 5 mo to mature. (Basically around the same time the pullets started to lay.)

After having an aggressive roo, the early bloomer made me nervous. I was afraid the early maturation would mean a lot of testosterone, but he's about 18 mo & still a good boy. He's still the flock leader & was never human aggressive. He's even good to other roos- as long as they're not raping hens - and the roos work together as a team to keep the hens & chicks safe.

Right now we have 19 females & 3 males. Hoping to get down to 12-15 hens & 2 roos before winter.

 

[islandgirl82]

How old was your rooster when he turned? The last cockerel (not a Dominique) I raised was from an egg and he turned out to be terrible. Not with people but with the girls. I kept him until he was a year old and instead of outgrowing the bad behavior he kept getting worse so he was culled.

This new cockerel really likes human affection, to the point that he won't get out from under my feet until he gets a chest rub or actually gets picked up. I was shocked to see how quickly my hens accepted him and actually encourage him to follow them. I know he'll get rambunctious once his hormones really kick in but I'm very hopeful that he remains as gentle-natured as he currently is.

 

[Faraday40]

Our mean rooster started crowing at 5 mo. He was ok until 8 mo. He was then usually OK but sometimes tried to hold his ground. I didn't think think much of it & continued to walk & he would move out of my way. Around 10 mo he started randomly attacking the pooper scooper. (He really hated it & would usually avoid being in the same area.) He attacked the chicken sitter when she was cleaning. More like a bump, no damage done. He also started standing defensively when my kids were around. I had to lock him up everytime they went to play outside. I was too busy to deal with an unpredictable roo, so we made life easier by giving him to someone for dinner. He never actually attacked me or the kids, but it wasn't something I wanted to wait around for. We hatched all of our roos, but our current roos never went through that testing phase.

 

[islandgirl82]

Good to know. Mine so far does not try to keep the girls from me. I make a point to handle each one in front of him as often as possible. When he first joined the flock, he would watch me and now he doesn't bother even looking my way. I have my children do the same and he is just as disinterested when they do. They also handle him without a fuss.

We just adopted a new dog a few weeks ago who is getting used to being around the flock and every time I take him out (on leash of course) the cockerel puts himself between the dog and me and watches the dog. I have another dog who is has been very helpful in watching over my flock for years and the cockerel doesn't respond the same way to him. I'm assuming he's picking up on how relaxed the girls are around one and how they're more alert around the other but it surprises me that he'd put himself between the new one and me.

Do you remember any warning signs that he would turn prior to his pooper scooper attacks?