General flock question

[mossyoakpro]

My cockeral has turned out to be a jerk...first to my pullets and now to me. So I'm going to be moving him along somewhere else....my question is: How will the pullets react to having some supervision to all of a sudden not having supervision? I free range all day every day and having him to give them a warning call seems to be working pretty good lately....will one of the females take over that duty? I will be searching for an older rooster that has better manners but it will probably be a little while before I find the right one.

 

[NatJ]

How will the pullets react to having some supervision to all of a sudden not having supervision? I free range all day every day and having him to give them a warning call seems to be working pretty good lately....will one of the females take over that duty?

Chickens are individuals, so it can be quite hard to predict what any specific one might do. You might have a pullet who takes over the warnings, or several might start doing it, or maybe none. You won't really know until you remove the cockerel and watch for a while.

My cockeral has turned out to be a jerk...first to my pullets and now to me. So I'm going to be moving him along somewhere else

That sounds like a good decision for both the pullets and yourself.

 

[Mrs. K]

I am all for not keeping the cockerel - but I will tell you I have considerably better luck with a GOOD rooster that is close to a year old. I have had people whom I respect on here say that a hen will take over being aware of predators, but I have never had one do so.

However, right now I have two cockerels, competing for the right to keep the flock, but they failed to get the memo. They really did not leave the coop very far, and were the first ones home, and never stayed with the hens at all. Hoping this improves.

Getting a good rooster is a trick.

Mrs K

 

[mossyoakpro]

I am all for not keeping the cockerel - but I will tell you I have considerably better luck with a GOOD rooster that is close to a year old. I have had people whom I respect on here say that a hen will take over being aware of predators, but I have never had one do so.

However, right now I have two cockerels, competing for the right to keep the flock, but they failed to get the memo. They really did not leave the coop very far, and were the first ones home, and never stayed with the hens at all. Hoping this improves.

Getting a good rooster is a trick.

Mrs K

I have to say that after posting this question my cockerel and I had an "attitude adjustment" meeting....he was trying to do a sneak attack on me and let's just say I was prepared for it! He got a nice soccer style kick across the yard! Believe it or not since then he has been extremely nice to the pullets and myself. He would not even think about getting near me or my wife for a day or 2 but has starting eating out of my hand again yesterday....maybe he realizes who's really in charge now.

As far as becoming a good protector....he stands constant vigil over the rest of the flock and notifies them of anything he thinks is a problem and they all scramble under whatever they are near. I have witnessed him picking up things and calling the girls over to get it out of his beak....As of yesterday, he goes out and rounds everyone up to get in the coop at dark and is the last one in after checking the run for any kind of intruder...now it seems that instead of forcing himself on them he gently puts his foot on their back, if they squat he does his business....if they don't he goes about trying to find one that will.

So, this long post just to say that maybe he needed some positive reinforcement to get his mind right for now but time will tell. I'll keep him around as long as he keeps me in the back of his mind as the enforcer....

 

[Mrs. K]

Well it just depends on your tolerance. I don't feed mine by hand, I do not want them that close to me. If you wear long pants to the coop always, do not have children under that age of 6, keep trying, the bird does have a lot of traits I wish those two knot heads of mine would start showing. There is more to life than being eye candy and crowing.

However, what I would expect - is that he is biding his time. They will straighten up for a bit, give you space and respect...and wait. Then when you are carrying something, or have bent down to fix something, anything that gives them the slightest advantage - they will attack again. They tend to attack children first, then women, then men. The attacks tend to become more and more aggressive. You need to be aware.

However, there have been numerous posts on here, where as people claim to have had one attack, corrected it, and never had another... or they did not post 3-4 weeks later when he attacked again.

Mrs K

 

[mossyoakpro]

Well it just depends on your tolerance. I don't feed mine by hand, I do not want them that close to me. If you wear long pants to the coop always, do not have children under that age of 6, keep trying, the bird does have a lot of traits I wish those two knot heads of mine would start showing. There is more to life than being eye candy and crowing.

However, what I would expect - is that he is biding his time. They will straighten up for a bit, give you space and respect...and wait. Then when you are carrying something, or have bent down to fix something, anything that gives them the slightest advantage - they will attack again. They tend to attack children first, then women, then men. The attacks tend to become more and more aggressive. You need to be aware.

However, there have been numerous posts on here, where as people claim to have had one attack, corrected it, and never had another... or they did not post 3-4 weeks later when he attacked again.

Mrs K

Well, after my long post praising him he tried it again this morning...another swift kick and now he will be gone. I'm going to an all female flock for a bit and hope for the best. Maybe down the road I'll add an older rooster that has some manners and we can live happily ever after...until then I'll keep my fingers crossed that I don't lose some to predators while there's not a sentry to look out all the time. I'll probably end up with just doing limited free range for a while and see where we are. I was really hoping it would work out but sadly no....ugh

 

[Folly's place]

This is how things generally will go; the cockerel, not smart, doesn't give up, and continues being a jerk. Sometimes smart enough to turn into an ambush type, and yours didn't even get to that!
Think about his behaviors before these attacks, because it's valuable experiences you've had, and be more prepared to recognize earlier signs of difficulties before actual attacks.
Nice roosters are great, the other kind, not so much.
Mary

 

[McChooky]

Some cockerels are just smarter than others.They're all not the same. If you spend a lot of time with one you will get to know him and what he's capable of. Get rid of the mean ones.