Hens pickin on 5 month old cockerel. Any advice?

[aquanautscott]

So I have a neighbor who purged a few cockerels and I ended up with a great looking, gentle Jersey Giant. My hens were kind of intimidated at first because he is a lot larger than them. But finally my queen bee decided she was gonna take a shot at him and because he is such a softy, he just kind of ran away upon her pecking him. This gave a couple of the others the green light to go after him and now I'm concerned.
I was wondering if anyone else has dealt with this and if he will eventually get the upper hand once he matures a bit more (he is about 5 months old) or whether this initial pecking order will impact his effectiveness as the manager of the flock long-term. Any wisdom or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[sourland]

Just imagine a teenager thrown into a room of cougarish ladies. That's what he is dealing with. If possible I would separate him from the hens and reintroduce once he is mature and can deal with their crap.

 

[donrae]

I'd just leave him there and let him take it for a while. Those ladies won't just squat for the first young joe that comes by, he's going to have to prove himself! Jerseys are slower to mature, so it may take a few months, but his hormones will start flowing and he'll assert himself quite nicely. The hens will eventually accept him. No blood, no foul. Make sure there's enough space he can get away from the meanest lady and let them work it out.

 

[Mrs. K]

I have a private theory, (ok, many have said that I am pipe dreaming) but I think you get nicer roo's, if they have been exposed to older hens while growing up. They have nicer manners thumped into them, rather that if you raise a rooster with their sisters. The roo develops sooner than the pullets, is quickly bigger than the pullets, and generally in my limited experience is a pretty good jerk because of all that power and no brains.

I vote leave him in there, unless he is being bloodied. Do give all the birds some hideouts in the run, and some roosts in the run.

Mrs K