How long till the cockrel starts moving up the pecking order ?

[Faraz1]

So I have a flock of 7 chickens in total as follows

Hen-A, Rooster -- 29 weeks
Hen-B, Hen-C-- 27 weeks
Hen-D, Cockrel-A, Cockrel-B -- 14 weeks


I have observed one young cockrel-A being picked on by one of the hens, specifically Hen-C. Is it because the cockrell is trying to move up in the pecking order or the hen is just being a bully ?

I have not observed Hen-C pick on Hen-D for that matter who being the youngest female is at the bottom of the pecking order.

 

[DobieLover]

He's being obnoxious and the older pullet is putting him in line.
You need to rehome 2 of your 3 cockerels. You don't have enough girls for them all.

 

[Faraz1]

Yes cockrels will be rehomed for dinner in the new year probably when they are around 18weeks

 

[Yardmom]

Is the mature roo at his prime, or is he in decline? The cockerals might not be given much status with another roo already at the top, or depending on the birds a young cockeral could fight to the top at an time.

 

[Faraz1]

Is the mature roo at his prime, or is he in decline? The cockerals might not be given much status with another roo already at the top, or depending on the birds a young cockeral could fight to the top at an time.

I would say he is in his prime @ 29 weeks

 

[Yardmom]

All the male birds you have are cockerals (under a year). The oldest may still have the best chance of staying on top since he got a head start, but there is a good chance of fights for the top with him so young if you keep the others much longer.
Your question made me think of my Barred Rock roo. When he was young my crele roo was well established as head of the flock. My crele has aged and is no longer strong. My BR became very strong but still submitted to the crele. When I added another cockeral the BR would fight the cockeral to defend my crele. The barred rock was the strongest in the coop but never tried to take over the flock.
Unfortunately the BR was taken by a fox. A cockeral from my other coop saw this as his chance and moved in as head honcho. My crele roo will live out his senior days as a lower ranking bird with out the BR to tell the others who's boss.

 

[aart]

Hen-A, Rooster -- 29 weeks
Hen-B, Hen-C-- 27 weeks
Hen-D, Cockrel-A, Cockrel-B -- 14 weeks

All pullets and cockerels.
FYI-PSA.....semantics, maybe, but can be important communication terms when discussing chicken behavior.
Female chickens are called pullets until one year of age, then they are called hens.
Male chickens are called cockerels until one year of age, then they are called cocks(or cockbirds or roosters).
Age in weeks or months is always a good thing to note.

 

[Faraz1]

Thanks for the clarifications

 

[bhawk-23]

All the male birds you have are cockerals (under a year). The oldest may still have the best chance of staying on top since he got a head start, but there is a good chance of fights for the top with him so young if you keep the others much longer.
Your question made me think of my Barred Rock roo. When he was young my crele roo was well established as head of the flock. My crele has aged and is no longer strong. My BR became very strong but still submitted to the crele. When I added another cockeral the BR would fight the cockeral to defend my crele. The barred rock was the strongest in the coop but never tried to take over the flock.
Unfortunately the BR was taken by a fox. A cockeral from my other coop saw this as his chance and moved in as head honcho. My crele roo will live out his senior days as a lower ranking bird with out the BR to tell the others who's boss.

This is really interesting.

One year ago I had an amazing cockerel who I just couldn't bear to cull. I decided to call a friend with a large flock and convince her just how awesome he is. She already had two bantam roos that that shared the flock so she was hesitant but felt sorry for me and kindly agreed. When he arrived there was a scuffle or two that first day but nothing alarming to her. She asses he would take over very soon.
As he grew to be much bigger and stronger than the bantams he always just let them be. If they chased him off one of their girls (he did keep his own smaller flock) he just left it alone. After one bantam died (assuming old age) he still allowed the other to stay above him.
Fast forward one year. One day the bantam roo would not come out of the hen house. She observed and there was never a fight between any of them (she took two more of my cockerels but they was months before this happened). And when he did make short trips out he was left alone by all the roos.

She had no idea why Oscar never challenged him or took over when he was much bigger, younger and stronger than the bantam. Hearing your story just shed some insight for me and I'll share it with her.

BTW: Oscar has become her most favorite roo ever. She just adores him.

 

[Mrs. K]

To the original poster: You really don't have an established flock, but rather a group of very young birds, the 7 month old birds should be close to full size. I am assuming that the rooster out of the group is still behaving well? Often times a rooster that is bigger than everyone else can become quite a jerk.

I would not suspect a pecking order issue with that big of age difference between them, at this point the young birds should be hanging together, being as frisky as they dare, and trying not to upset the older birds.

But I would begin to question your space. Over crowding can cause some very ugly behaviors. And what seemed to be a lot of space when they were little, can rapidly become not enough space when they get bigger. People tend to think if they let them out for a couple hours a day, that will help, but it really won't. Send some pictures of your set up and measure.

But with the two younger roosters coming up, I would be expecting a train wreck. They might all get along, but I would not count on it. It is very hard to believe, when right now you are worried about the cockerel, and later on he could very well be the problem. Three roosters to three hens will most often lead to a very high tension flock. Being raised up together will have no influence on this.

If she is pecking enough to concern you, it would be helpful to see your set up. But you need a plan B set up and ready to go, so that you can separate birds from each other.

Mrs K