Help Rooster People...need advice~

[donrae]

I have a similar age cockerel in a pen with three older hens,and a bunch of young pullets his same age. He's terrified of the older girls still! I just noticed him giving a warning call for the first time yesterday, so he's not really mature enough to mate. My older hens have high standards for a rooster, so they're going to make him work for his mating. I'm not worried about things until spring,and I'm pretty sure by then I'll have excellent fertility

 

[IttyBiddyRedHen]

This year was an experimental year for us. The cockerels I just mentioned, were raised in the coop/pen....with all different ages of birds. These are 3 Barred Rocks and 2 Game mixes. I was hoping, like you wrote -donrae-that the mixed age flock would have a positive effect on rooster temperment. They were all good, till puberty hit. Now, they are even attacking their mama. I watched it yesterday. Over a piece of bread.
Anyway, I have 2 younger hatches of chicks in there now also. They haven't reached any maturity yet. Flock dynamics is definitely fluid.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Personally, I think you get a better rooster raised in a flock of muli-age birds. I like the dynamics and they learn how to be good roosters. I have not been keeping a scientific count, but people often post that they have never had trouble with roosters, or only very, very rarely. However, if you have read lots of their posts, it mostly comes out that they have multiple age flocks. Some separate the chicks at hatching, and combine the flocks when the chicks are about 4 months old. Others let the hen raise the chicks in the flock. In both cases, the roosters start out much younger than the majority of the flock.

When you read of the nightmares, it very often is an accidental rooster in a flock of chicks. This bird grow faster than his flockmates, and due to his size, begins the bullying and dominance issues. There is no bigger or older bird to thump some manners into him. In his world nothing is bigger or meaner than he is....... very often these rooster attack people too.

It is just a theory of mine, I should keep a count, next summer when a large number of chicks are getting to the 12 -16 week count, I think I will. Or maybe I should conduct a poll.

Mrs K

I have a couple of theories on that too. I think you are right a lot of the problems are unintended males in a purchase. And I do agree that raising them with a flock helps, whether that is with a broody hen or keeping them with the flock even if housed separately for a while. Just don’t wait until they hit puberty to integrate them. If you have room, you don’t have to wait.

My first theory carries over to a lot of things. I think most of the integration issues, rooster issues, pecking order issues, and broody hen issues we read about on here happen when space is tight. If chickens have space they will solve most of their behavioral problems. Occasionally you might get an Attila the Hun or maybe Lilly the Hun, chickens of ether sex that are just brutal, but in most cases they will work things out if they have room.

My other theory will upset some people, but I think a lot of the problems aren’t problems at all, at least for the chickens. I think a lot of people new to chickens don’t understand what normal behavior is. If they see one chicken pecking another chicken it is time to call out the National Guard to restore order. Put that brute in time out to teach it good manners. Don’t let them see a rooster mating a hen, that has to be pure torture for that poor hen. It’s obvious she did not want him mate to so it has to be horrible. People not raised around flock or herd animals don’t understand how social animals interact. There is a reason a rooster grabs the back of a hen’s head when they mate and it’s not that he is being an awful brute. It’s the signal for her to raise her tail out of the way so he can hit the target. They could not mate if he did not grab the back of her head. Once you explain the why to most people they get it, but not being around animals like this before they just don’t know what to expect. From her posts above, LitttleRedCoop is someone who gets it with a bit of an explanation.

I guess I have a third theory. Most of the problems reported, usually cockerels but often pullet flocks too, are when they are teenagers. Hasn’t anyone ever raised teenagers before? When those hormones hit, boys or girls, and they don’t yet have the maturity to handle it, things can get really exciting. Most teenage kids grow up to become responsible mature adults. Most teenage pullets and cockerels grow up to become mature flock members that understand their role in chicken society. That transition from childhood to mature responsible adult can get pretty hectic.

Anyway, off my soap box. Now back to regular programming.

 

[IttyBiddyRedHen]

I seriously think some of their flock behavior could be learned. Especially since they all race after a goodie, if someone else is eating something. My broody pullets teach the babies about what THEY like, and is edible....but I have noticed that the babies who are not the same breed as the broody.....figure out that they like stuff she doesn't. Worms etc. Fermented feed. Bananas.

So, why couldn't other behaviors be learned ...to an extent. The mature hens do teach the cockerels how to behave like gentlemen..although some seem to know it instinctively. It takes a while to emerge on other roosters.

Some hens are better mamas than others. When I had the game hens....5 of them..they copied each other on being broody. Now I have only the one game hen left, she isn't so quick to go broody.
Her daughter game hen..game/EE mix...actually went broody first this past spring.

And I agree on the teenager bit RR. Once those hormones kick in...like they are supposed to do.....then they get aggressive, try to mount any hen or pullet they can, and just cause general chaos.
But since we are raising birds for dual purpose....they were going to go to the freezer anyways.
We were just planning on Nov 1.....they decided on this coming weekend.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I looked at the extended forecast. No rain, not much wind, temperatures look pretty comfortable. Looks like Thursday or Friday for my next group, though these are pullets and hens. The cockerels are already in the freezer. If that's why we raise them that is why we raise them. And if you hatch, you have to have a plan for the excess.

 

[IttyBiddyRedHen]

Exactly. The hens get to lay the eggs....the cockerels get to come to supper.

This will be our second year for processing.

 

[donrae]

I have a couple of theories on that too. I think you are right a lot of the problems are unintended males in a purchase. And I do agree that raising them with a flock helps, whether that is with a broody hen or keeping them with the flock even if housed separately for a while. Just don’t wait until they hit puberty to integrate them. If you have room, you don’t have to wait.

My first theory carries over to a lot of things. I think most of the integration issues, rooster issues, pecking order issues, and broody hen issues we read about on here happen when space is tight. If chickens have space they will solve most of their behavioral problems. Occasionally you might get an Attila the Hun or maybe Lilly the Hun, chickens of ether sex that are just brutal, but in most cases they will work things out if they have room.

My other theory will upset some people, but I think a lot of the problems aren’t problems at all, at least for the chickens. I think a lot of people new to chickens don’t understand what normal behavior is. If they see one chicken pecking another chicken it is time to call out the National Guard to restore order. Put that brute in time out to teach it good manners. Don’t let them see a rooster mating a hen, that has to be pure torture for that poor hen. It’s obvious she did not want him mate to so it has to be horrible. People not raised around flock or herd animals don’t understand how social animals interact. There is a reason a rooster grabs the back of a hen’s head when they mate and it’s not that he is being an awful brute. It’s the signal for her to raise her tail out of the way so he can hit the target. They could not mate if he did not grab the back of her head. Once you explain the why to most people they get it, but not being around animals like this before they just don’t know what to expect. From her posts above, LitttleRedCoop is someone who gets it with a bit of an explanation.

I guess I have a third theory. Most of the problems reported, usually cockerels but often pullet flocks too, are when they are teenagers. Hasn’t anyone ever raised teenagers before? When those hormones hit, boys or girls, and they don’t yet have the maturity to handle it, things can get really exciting. Most teenage kids grow up to become responsible mature adults. Most teenage pullets and cockerels grow up to become mature flock members that understand their role in chicken society. That transition from childhood to mature responsible adult can get pretty hectic.

Anyway, off my soap box. Now back to regular programming.

quoted, just cause it's worth folks reading again.

Agree so many folks don't know anything about animal behavior and are upset at normal chicken behavior. Lots of folks that are getting into chickens the last few years have no experience with much beyond the family Lab, who was raised as part of the family and really doesn't exhibit "normal animal behavior" anymore.

 

[Mrs. K]

My first theory carries over to a lot of things. I think most of the integration issues, rooster issues, pecking order issues, and broody hen issues we read about on here happen when space is tight. If chickens have space they will solve most of their behavioral problems.

And space......when my own flock gets cranky, someone has to come out of the flock......

A problem with space is so obvious, but is often over looked. Small young chicks take up less space than full sized birds....... So a flock of birds that had enough space, can all of a sudden start to have issues as the younger birds get bigger. Also summer, has longer days and if you free range you can really cheat on the numbers. However, winter is coming, days are getting short, and even if you still free range, the birds are cooped up in a limited space with the darkness for longer and longer periods of time.

I am there right now, I have a group of 7 chicks, 4 pullet and 3 roosters within my flock of layers and a roo. Lately, I can feel the tensions rising. The roosters are approaching adolescents, and all seven are getting closer and closer to full size. Next week-end, I will cull two of the roosters.... That will leave me with one and the Flock master - who will be culled in the spring, he is just not making fertile eggs and really didn't all summer, but he does pretty good with flock protection and he is very good with younger roosters.

The one juvenile rooster that I am keeping, I am not sure about....... but I do have a hen on eggs now, if those make it, there should be a rooster there.

My point is, if you are going to have an ongoing flock, new must come in, and others must go out.

Space is the limiting factor.

Mrs K