hens still attacking rooster

[Chickenman305]

i’ve had my cockerel for about 3 days now and the hens are still attacking him . he’s a bit smaller than the hens and he’s not even fighting back i’ve tried putting him on the roost at night with them and they still won’t give him a break . he’s in a pen that’s inside the chicken coop so they constantly see him. I was hoping it would get better by now but it’s not . They aren’t really doing damage to him just pulling small feathers out. How much longer until they accept him ? any suggestions will be greatly appreciated thanks .

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

3 days is nothing. Give them a few weeks. They need to forget he's new. I would keep him penned separately at least a week or two before doing some supervised mingling. I wouldn't leave him with them yet. If they decide to really attack they can do lots of damage quickly. I wouldn't rush it.

 

[Chickenman305]

3 days is nothing. Give them a few weeks. They need to forget he's new. I would keep him penned separately at least a week or two before doing some supervised mingling. I wouldn't leave him with them yet. If they decide to really attack they can do lots of damage quickly. I wouldn't rush it.

okay thanks

 

[sourland]

Create his own pen where he can develop his own territory - as @oldhenlikesdogs says leave him there for a matter of weeks. Then one at a time over a period of time (days not hours) introduce the hens to him starting with the least dominant.

 

[Ebony Rose]

At first glance, it appears that you didn't quarantine the cockerel so I'll start by wishing you good health and good luck.
He would integrate more readily if you had him in something like a dog kennel or something where he could be seen and heard by your existing flock in what many refer to as a "look, don't touch" living arrangement, for a week or two.
After this time, you can try a supervised integration, shooting for about one hour, so approaching dusk would be a good time to try for. The time of day could prove beneficial should you need to CATCH him as he'll naturally quit running once it's dark
Again, best wishes.

 

[aart]

3 days is nothing. Give them a few weeks.

Ditto Dat!^^^

Maybe I missed it, but how old are these birds?

Also how big is coop and run(in feet by feet with pics) and how many birds total?

 

[Ridgerunner]

How old is he? How old are the "hens"? Age is extremely important when looking at this interaction. It sounds like a classic case of an immature cockerel being bullied by more mature females but I don;t know that.

As Aart requested above, how much room do they have and how many birds in total? That could be helpful in making suggestions.