Flock behavior.

[Becca51]

I am having trouble understanding an ongoing problem I am dealing with one of my roosters. He has been housed with 6 hens of different ages since last October. He has just now started showing intetest in acting like a rooster should but everytime he mounts a selective hen she and most everyone else in the pen turns on him and chases him away. What can be done? He is an Ameraucana and hens are Barred Rock, Orpington, Maran and EEs.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

They need more room.
What is the square footage that the 7 birds occupy.
How old is the rooster? How long has he been in the flock and how long have the hens made up and established flock.
He has to mature enough that the older hens can't intimidate him.
I've seen older established flocks of hens do that because they are protective of their sisters.
Established flocks are all about the flock.

 

[Becca51]

Hey ChickenCanoe. Don't think room is a problem. Their coop is 10 X 24 and every third day they have full range of the 45 X 72 barn plus 20 X 72 outside pen. All my 28 chickens ran together last summer till I seperated them into 4 different flocks in October. He was hatched either in May or June I believe but I have had him since September I think.

 

[Mrs. K]

I think it is his age, give him some time and he will get to the top of the flock. I think older hens make better roosters, they learn some manners.

Mrs k