First egg, cockerel question.

[Ruby Rogue]

We got our first egg yesterday

Just now as I was approaching the coop, I felt my normally friendly and still somewhat timid cockerel peck my boot from behind. He didn't want me going in the coop. I pecked him back and he stood his ground, didn't even back away from me.

It's obvious to me that he was protecting today's egg. Is this going to be a continuous issue?

 

[igorsMistress]

Hi there. It could be but it may not. Time will tell. How old is he?

 

[Ruby Rogue]

They're about 16-17 weeks.

 

[igorsMistress]

I would keep an eye on him. However, if you start now treating him, ie drop whatever treats you have on the ground in front of him, and let him call the girls for the treats, he may see you as less or no competition. Sweet talking him is better than trying to show him who's boss in my experience. Confronting him only makes him think you're challenging him for HIS girls as he is the flock boss in his mind.

 

[igorsMistress]

Also, try not get between him and the girls and don't pester him if he mates them in front of you and then crows in your face. I just laugh at my boys when they do that.

 

[Sammy1122]

He was not protecting the egg, he could care less and probably didn’t even know the egg was in there, however he is showing aggression, you can get rid of him or fix the issue.
He was defending his girls because he now looks at you as part of the heir achy.

 

[Ruby Rogue]

He was not protecting the egg, he could care less and probably didn’t even know the egg was in there, however he is showing aggression, you can get rid of him or fix the issue.
He was defending his girls because he now looks at you as part of the heir achy.

I found it interesting that they seemed to 'grow up' overnight...he had no aggression at all until the first egg was laid yesterday. And there were no girls in the coop, but there was an egg. He left his girls to try to keep me out of the coop.

 

[Ruby Rogue]

Also, try not get between him and the girls and don't pester him if he mates them in front of you and then crows in your face. I just laugh at my boys when they do that.

He isn't mating them. The other cockerel from the same hatch has been grabbing necks for a while, today I saw him mate for the first time. Also left the treats for the girls when he normally takes them and runs.

I spend a lot of time observing these birds and I've delibrately made myself a part of the hierarchy. I sense the behavior is because of the egg.

 

[igorsMistress]

It may start there but it will most likely progress.

 

[Sammy1122]

Chickens do Grow up overnight.Their behaviors can change with the snap of a finger, their unpredictable.The coop is apart of his territory, the bird is coming into its adolescent stages.The only time I can see a rooster defending an egg is if one of the other hens was “Broody”. And even then the bird isn’t just defending a single egg, he’s defending the mother and the nest, but him defending a single egg, doesn’t sound right.