HELP! Mean Rooster?!?

[susmith]

I am new to the chicken world. I have 4 hens & 2 roosters. They will be 14 weeks old in 2 days. I have 2 Sultans (total sweethearts), 2 Silkies (1 is a roo) 1 Banty roo & ? Idk what kind of hen. I got them all @ the same time, so they have been raised together. In the past 1-2 weeks the Silkie Roo has became so mean to the Sultans!! They are terrified of him & he's even being mean to Brownie (the idk hen). I have separated the 2 Sultans, they have their own coop & run but Goldie (silkie roo) will taunt them when I let him out to free range. What has happened to him

 

[JanetMarie]

He's posturing to let you know he has a space that's his. Probably dominance also. My two roosters posture to one another through the chain link fence while in their own areas. Last week by accident one got in the other's area and they didn't posture or fight. The one who's space was invaded just crowed a lot, and was happy when I removed his "enemy".

 

[QueenMisha]

I have a questions..... I have 4 hens and 1 Rooster they are all the Same age around 18 weeks old. Is it OK if the hens are not laying eggs yet but the rooster is trying to mate with them? Thanks in advance I am new to chickens

Mutt Farm did you good by pointing you in the direction of the Introductions forum, and they've probably already answered your questions there, but I'll chip in here anyways - yes, as long as the pullets and cockerel are of a comparable size, it should be perfectly fine. A large roo on younger hens, or a roo who starts mating very early could be issues, but approximately 16 weeks and older and the males and females alike will start to display and become more receptive to mating behaviors.

 

[QueenMisha]

This is a pretty normal part of rooster growing up. They are getting their hormones now. He is clearly the dominant rooster, and as such, he doesn't really care about the other roosters' feelings.

I hate to break it to you, but no matter what, you are going to need to rehome/stew some roosters. Or get a considerably larger number of hens. 4 roosters and 4 hens kept together is going to result in extremely stressed, mostly bald, unhealthy hens who do not lay and spend a lot of time hiding inside the coop. The correct ratio is 8 hens:1 standard rooster or 10 hens:1 bantam rooster. Otherwise you will get fearful hens with a bad rooster burn.

 

[susmith]

Thank you for your input. Glad to know my cocky roo is "normal" I guess

there are actually only 2 Roo's & 4 hens, but still I see the ratio you are talking about. Hopefully he will settle down eventually.

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome! Misha is so right; many more pullets, or one cockrel max.If either boy shows any signs of taking you on, he's definitely the one to go. I like having roosters, but only nice ones. Lots of space is important, and in general, separating them will make reintroductions harder. If your cockrel is causing injuries, even as a young bird, he needs to go. In a mixed flock, you may have birds that are just too pushy for other flockmates. Mary

 

[susmith]

Thank you. I have done so much reading up on this, mostly from this site, and it's definitely a learning process. I just love all of my flock, I'm hoping things will settle down quickly. Goldie seemed to be ok this morning, hopefully he continues his good behavior.

 

[susmith]

I've been rotating their free range times. Like this morning I let the 4 out. I will go home at noon & put them up & let the two sweet ones out. But whenever I put the 4 up, Goldie (silkie roo) paces non stop, hollering etc. which I think is stressing all the others out! And what is that "scream/screech" thing he is doing??

 

[Folly's place]

A single chicken is a very unhappy bird. He's stressed, and so are everyone else. Right now I have a 16 week old cockrel alone, because of behavioral issues. He's not pleased, but that's life sometimes. Soon he will be elsewhere... Mary

 

[Cockatrice6420]

I have had issues like that before. One rooster wasn't quite right from the shipment. He had to be put down. Another, my big partridge rock, just has to be reminded who not to mess with. I have found that holding the roosters when they misbehave helps a lot. They get to understand that you are in control not him.