Help!! Adolescent roosters picking on younger hens

[pbono9]

Can anyone advise why this is happening and if it will stop.

We have 23 chickens. 3 old hens, and the rest born around easter up until july. My question is this...

There were 7 that were hatched in the beginning of June from a mixed batch. We ended up with a columbian cochin bantam rooster, a rhode island red rooster, a polish rooster, 2 polish hens and 2 OEGB hens. The batch before them was 1 salmon faverolle rooster, 2 oegb hensx a duccle hen and a silkie.

The last hatch at the end of july is 3 salmon faverolle hens, 1 cochin bantam hen and 2 bantam mix hens. Plus 1 mille fluer duccle rooster.

Now the problem is the cochin rooster and rhode island red rooster are obssessed with the younger hens. They spot them and chase after them to jump in them. Now they have 11 hens that are their age or older that they do not mess with....why?

Our poor younger hens hide and the lil d'uccle rooster cant do anything. Its really bad. The poor little hens will see us and jump in our arms to get away from the roosters.

The roosters are friendly towards us, and the other hens and they all get along fine. Its they harass the younger birds.

The salmon faverolle rooster is dominate over the younger roosters, nothing bad, they just move when he comes near them, but he leaves all the hens alone..

Should we seperate the younger hen or the roosters or will their hormones settle down soon? They have been together for months and all free range. But we want to strangle the roosters when we see them spot the younger hens and run full force at them...
They are like a gang, the cochin, rhode island red and polish rooster. . And it pisses us off that they leave their own hens alone....

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Yes, it's rough. They have no social mores. Probably the easiest thing to do is to put the young cockerels in their own housing for a few months. Any pullet/hen is free game to any cockerel/cock. They don't discriminate.

 

[Euarto Gullible]

Can anyone advise why this is happening and if it will stop.

We have 23 chickens. 3 old hens, and the rest born around easter up until july. My question is this...

There were 7 that were hatched in the beginning of June from a mixed batch. We ended up with a columbian cochin bantam rooster, a rhode island red rooster, a polish rooster, 2 polish hens and 2 OEGB hens. The batch before them was 1 salmon faverolle rooster, 2 oegb hensx a duccle hen and a silkie.

The last hatch at the end of july is 3 salmon faverolle hens, 1 cochin bantam hen and 2 bantam mix hens. Plus 1 mille fluer duccle rooster.

Now the problem is the cochin rooster and rhode island red rooster are obssessed with the younger hens. They spot them and chase after them to jump in them. Now they have 11 hens that are their age or older that they do not mess with....why?

Our poor younger hens hide and the lil d'uccle rooster cant do anything. Its really bad. The poor little hens will see us and jump in our arms to get away from the roosters.

The roosters are friendly towards us, and the other hens and they all get along fine. Its they harass the younger birds.

The salmon faverolle rooster is dominate over the younger roosters, nothing bad, they just move when he comes near them, but he leaves all the hens alone..

Should we seperate the younger hen or the roosters or will their hormones settle down soon? They have been together for months and all free range. But we want to strangle the roosters when we see them spot the younger hens and run full force at them...
They are like a gang, the cochin, rhode island red and polish rooster. . And it pisses us off that they leave their own hens alone....

It's competitive behavior. Hens won't accept advances from anybody but the alpha roo unless the ratio exceeds ~ 1:10 where certain hens will accept the advances of a secondary roo because the alpha roo has his favorites and doesn't really need/want some particular hens. The alpha roo will protect fertile hens in his harem and so they are a difficult target to mate for the satellite roosters. Young roosters will go after any girls they can get, even if they're young ones that are not yet fertile. You can have a slightly higher rooster to hen ratio with hatch mates who have grown up together as chicks. They will maintain less fierce competition than two unrelated roosters. Competitive behavior leads to heavy mating and younger roosters being rougher with the hens. You have to remember that they have to get the hen and mount her very fast before the other rooster chases them off or attacks them. They're not being rough because they're mean. They're being rough because they're desperate to get laid. Take any one of your gang and put him over the flock as the lone rooster and watch his demeanor turn into knightly gentleman with the ladies instead of desperate rapist. Rooster dynamics create some very entertaining chicken drama!

 

[pbono9]

Lol... great... yes the young cockrels were raised together. The older rooster by a month, the salmon favorelle, hasnt mounted anything yet.. he has crowed a couple times, but just doesnt seem interested in the hens..

Its just the 3 cockrels out of the same hatch.. they are the badasses.. but they dont mount their own hens. The ones they were hatched with. The 4 hens and 3 roosters all hang out together, but the roosters dont touch those hens.. it drives us crazy...lol

 

[pbono9]

N I feel like mother teresa of the chicken world... rescuing the helpless hens from the evil roosters...

The roosters arent really being mean, but they are intimidating the 6 younger hens...