Help with rooster....

[Sclark0012]

I recently bought a house, and the previous owner left me 4 hens. After a few days, I imagine, the ladies were forming their pecking order. I have 1 very sweet hen and they ended up plucking so many feathers off of her. I did some reading that suggested getting a rooster to stop the hens aggression and may have jumped the gun and got a rooster. Problem is, he is 5 months old and taking that poor sweet hen for a ride. I ended up having to put a sadle on her, but she seems terrified of him. He seems a little rough, but I dont know what the "norm" is. He calls them when i bring fresh veggies out to the yard, dances for them, and balances well on them, but he really grabs them hard and pulls on their combs. He is a very randy rooster . Now I feel that maybe I shouldn't have gotten him. Is this behavior normal?? Please help a new chicken owner!!

 

[CrazyCochin]

I recently bought a house, and the previous owner left me 4 hens. After a few days, I imagine, the ladies were forming their pecking order. I have 1 very sweet hen and they ended up plucking so many feathers off of her. I did some reading that suggested getting a rooster to stop the hens aggression and may have jumped the gun and got a rooster. Problem is, he is 5 months old and taking that poor sweet hen for a ride. I ended up having to put a sadle on her, but she seems terrified of him. He seems a little rough, but I dont know what the "norm" is. He calls them when i bring fresh veggies out to the yard, dances for them, and balances well on them, but he really grabs them hard and pulls on their combs. He is a very randy rooster . Now I feel that maybe I shouldn't have gotten him. Is this behavior normal?? Please help a new chicken owner!!

Well, roosters are naturally like that, here is a fun fact, if your hen has missing feathers behind her comb, that means she is his favorite, not sure if that helps though...
A couple of our hens are missing all their "tail" feathers, as to put it lightly, and I wish I could prevent feather loss, but it really isn't possible.
We have 4 roosters in our coop with about 40-50 hens, and possibly another cockerel...
Have you thought about separating her, or maybe making a small enclosure inside the coop? If it is large enough of course.
The roosters will be like that, it is normal, and he is young too, finding his place in the flock!

 

[CrazyCochin]

Well, roosters are naturally like that, here is a fun fact, if your hen has missing feathers behind her comb, that means she is his favorite, not sure if that helps though...
A couple of our hens are missing all their "tail" feathers, as to put it lightly, and I wish I could prevent feather loss, but it really isn't possible.
We have 4 roosters in our coop with about 40-50 hens, and possibly another cockerel,
Have you thought about separating her, or maybe making a small enclosure inside the coop? If it is large enough of course.
The roosters will be like that, it is normal, and he is young too, finding his place in the flock!

I hope this helps at all!

 

[EmmaRainboe]

Well, roosters are naturally like that, here is a fun fact, if your hen has missing feathers behind her comb, that means she is his favorite, not sure if that helps though...
A couple of our hens are missing all their "tail" feathers, as to put it lightly, and I wish I could prevent feather loss, but it really isn't possible.
We have 4 roosters in our coop with about 40-50 hens, and possibly another cockerel...
Have you thought about separating her, or maybe making a small enclosure inside the coop? If it is large enough of course.
The roosters will be like that, it is normal, and he is young too, finding his place in the flock!

x2

As he ages he should hopfully mellow out. Young cockerels are extremely hormonal and can chill out with age.

 

[keesmom]

How old are the females? What breed(s) are they? What are you feeding them? What are the dimensions of their coop and run? Is there any clutter in the run so she can get away from the aggressors and the cockerel?

Feather plucking and aggressive behavior often is caused by lack of space and boredom, as well as a low protein diet.

 

[Sclark0012]

I hope this helps at all!

Yes it helped so much! She is missing feathers on her entire head, so she must be his favorite. Thank you so much!

 

[Sclark0012]

How old are the females? What breed(s) are they? What are you feeding them? What are the dimensions of their coop and run? Is there any clutter in the run so she can get away from the aggressors and the cockerel?

Feather plucking and aggressive behavior often is caused by lack of space and boredom, as well as a low protein diet.

Honestly, I'm not sure on the breeds of the chickens. 1 of them is Laced. I have another black and white, and 2 all brown. They are around 3 years of age. Rooster is an americana. Food is a normal protein pellet food (dont remember the brand, got from Rural King) mixed with cracked corn and meal worms. The have cabbage i put out there as well as pumpkins and cucumber. Coop is about a 9x9 and the run is huge, 50x 30?? I haven't measured them. But by eyeing it, its pretty big. No clutter. The previous owner took everything in the coop, so i still need roosting bars installed, but they have nesting boxes. Hope that give enough info!

 

[aart]

I haven't measured them.

That would be a good thing to do.
Pic are also very helpful.

The previous owner took everything in the coop, so i still need roosting bars installed, but they have nesting boxes.

They left the nests and birds, but took the roosts?!

 

[Sclark0012]

That would be a good thing to do.
Pic are also very helpful.

They left the nests and birds, but took the roosts?!

Ill post some pics later today on here. .

They took everything, even the roosts and nests. I had to buy some . Ive been freaking out a little because I'm so new to this, and i want to be a good chicken mom.

 

[aart]

They took everything, even the roosts and nests. I had to buy some.

But they left the birds? That's crazy!