Explain to me...

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nipper75

nipper75

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a roster's behavior from birth to teenager to maturity....Please! Can't seem to find any literature about this topic.

I have a black copper maran roo that is 3 months old and this is my 1st roo among 5 pullets and 4 two year old hens....Since this is my first time, I want to know what to expect with the behavior as the hormones start to kick in and how he should be treating the girls.. The 4 two year old hens scare him and he runs from them. To the contrary, the 5 pullets seem to stay out of his way... Please explain!!!
hmm.png
 
I have a three month old rooster too! The big hens don't like the intruder and want to make sure he knows he is on the bottom. He doesn't have any interest in them because he isn't mature yet. The pullets are his age so he dominated them already. I am not sure about how he should be treating the girls. He'll have his favorites. He might over-mate them and make them get bald spots. There is more of a change with less hens. One behavior I am SURE you will have is - he will try to dominate you. Don't let him.

I held my roo at first, trying to go with the "cuddle him and make me love me" route. Turns out when you hold them and pet them, they think you are "preening" them, something submissive hens would do. Even at 4-6 weeks old, he would, "attack" my hand. It hurt! After some very, VERY, appreciated help on BYC, whenever he would attack me, I'd poke him. Hard. The first time you do it, do it so it pushes him back. * Do it until he runs away. Then, the second time onwards (unless he is NOT sumbitting at all.) give him a warning poke in the chest. If he does it again, chase him around the brooder. If he sumbits to gentle pokes, great! My rooster didn't. I did this and he didn't attack me anymore. :) Now I can hold him all I want. (Wait a couple days - week after you start the 'training' to start holding him so he isn't confused on who is the boss. YOU!)

Do NOT do this if he is still really little. (You probably shouldn't have a problem with him threatening you when he is really little though.) At about 6-8 weeks you can get rough with him. Eventually, use you foot. Do NOT be afraid to poke/kick him. It's either you, or him.
 
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LOL! You're right! The older girls are definitely the head hanchos!!!! He is very sweet.... I can walk right over to him and pick him up no problem... the same with my daughter. Just wondering if this will change? Should the girls his age be "afraid" of him? Currently in the process of making him his own living quarters hoping to avoid any problems that may come up in the future.
 
Your hens aren't "afraid" of the rooster. The older ones don't want a disruption in the flock dynamic and are keeping him in what they see as his place. But by 3-4 months old he has certainly tried to dominate and possible even mount the young hens/pullets.

As for aggression towards humans. We have Maran hens and (in the past) Maran roos, and I find the breed to be to quite docile with humans and submissive with other chickens. However they are very large birds, one of our Marn PULLETS already weights 4.5 pounds,while the others (the exact same age) are still under 3 pounds. We have had roos that weight over 10 pounds, something that should be consider if your rooster will be mating with hens of average size is that your hens might need saddles to protect them from injuries.

As for separate quarters, one of the best reasons to have a rooster is night time protection for your coop. Why do you think he will need to be kept separately?

Roosters tend to be "friendlier" that hens. Easier to catch and more willing to be handled but I agree with the advice above that you should not handle your roo unless it's necessary for his health and safety especial now as he is coming into maturity as he will view this as a submissive behavior on your part and feel compelled to get between you hand "his" hens.
 
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aggiemae said:
Your hens aren't "afraid" of the rooster. The older ones don't want a disruption in the flock dynamic and are keeping him in what they see as his place. But by 3-4 months old he has certainly tried to dominate and possible even mount the young hens/pullets.

As for aggression towards humans. We have Maran hens and (in the past) Maran roos, and I find the breed to be to quite docile with humans and submissive with other chickens. However they are very large birds, one of our Marn PULLETS already weights 4.5 pounds,while the others (the exact same age) are still under 3 pounds. We have had roos that weight over 10 pounds, something that should be consider if your rooster will be mating with hens of average size is that your hens might need saddles to protect them from injuries.

As for separate quarters, one of the best reasons to have a rooster is night time protection for your coop. Why do you think he will need to be kept separately?

Roosters tend to be "friendlier" that hens. Easier to catch and more willing to be handled but I agree with the advice above that you should not handle your roo unless it's necessary for his health and safety especial now as he is coming into maturity as he will view this as a submissive behavior on your part and feel compelled to get between you hand "his" hens.
Click to expand...
Hi aggiemae...... I believe I did witness him trying to mount a pullet. He was trying to get on her back and she screamed bloody murder. I also saw him grab/poke at another pullet with his beak and she squaked. This concerned me as this is my first time with a roo.

I was thinking separate quarters for him in order to avoid these "mating" issues as I don't want to eat fertile eggs and like you mentioned, he will be much larger than the other girls.

I tried to explain to my daughter to give him a better home but she's just too in love with him.....

Still undecided on what to do or think....
 
Fertile eggs don't differ at all in taste in comparison to infertile eggs.
 

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