Okay, I have 3 Bantam Buff Orpington boys that are 1 yr old. I got them last year as chicks from Ideal. Anyway, I've NEVER seen roosters that try to mate as much as these three do! The problem I have with them is that they all try to mount the same hen at the same time, and they end up hurting the girl in the process. Recently they split open the back of one pullet's head doing this. When I catch them, I stop them. I do NOT allow that behavior. But I've noticed a very surprising behavior that I just can't quite make sense of. One of the 3 boys, um, also prefers to be mounted.
I have watched him crouch down and make these noises in order to get one of the other BO's to mount him. And his brothers happily oblige! It's weird to watch, and I don't know what to make of it. This same rooster that wants to be mounted, he will also chase down other roosters to mount them. Course the adult boys won't tolerate that, but the poor cockerels run screaming for their lives. I have all my chicks in the yard right now, even the standards, and he was chasing my FBCM cockerel Pierre. I scooped a dazed and frightened Pierre up and chased off the BO, but the moment I put Pierre down, he was back after him. I have been trying to get rid of these boys for quite awhile now. I don't have the stomach to process them, or it would have been done already. Does anyone know WHY they are ganging up on a single hen? Or why the one wants to be mounted by other roosters? Yes, positive it's a rooster and not a hen. Or why that one rooster also goes after other roosters? I've never seen anything like it before. I look forward to the day when they are gone as I know my chicken yard will be much quieter and much more peaceful. And I think it will give my poor traumatized hens a chance to heal. Other than these bizarre acts, they are really pretty good boys. They never flog or bite, and they let my kids just scoop them up and kiss them, and they are good about showing the girls where the food is and preparing the nests for them. But they seem to have A LOT of testosterone. I don't think I'll be getting any more BO roos in the future, Bantam OR Standard. Any ideas or explanations would be MUCH appreciated. Thanks.