I Need Help with an Overly Amorous Rooster

[FlyOverZone]

Stats involved in issue

4 Pekin Ducks 2 Drakes 2 hens 18 weeks
4 Easter Egger hens 18 weeks
1 Easter Egger Rooster 18 weeks old
3 Easter Egger hens 9 to 13 weeks old

All of the 18 week old birds were purchased at a few days old, at the same place, and all raised together. The 3 younger Easter Eggers I got 2 months later. There was a short adjustment period but the 18 week old and younger birds seemed to get along. At night they ALL slept in the same 16 by 24 foot pen. And they are let out during the day to wander around the acreage.

Everything was fine until about a week ago when the Rooster began trying to mate with anything the stood still or was moving. The ducks and older birds seem to handle the attentions of this rooster in stride, but the Rooster seems to Particularly like the YOUNGER birds who ARE NOT dealing with his attention very well. I actually think they could hurt themselves trying to get away from him. a few mornings ago one of the younger birds ran off into the thicket trying to get away from him and didn't come back until bedtime.

I put a small pen inside the bigger pen and put a small door on it so the younger birds can go in and out but the Rooster could not. Unfortunately the rooster just waits them out and jumps on them when they come out and RELENTLESSLY pursues them.

Is this a phase the Teenage Rooster is going through?

Will he grow out of it?

Should I separate HIM from the rest of the Birds for awhile?

Are the ducks living with the chickens contributing to this problem?

How can I resolve this issue?

ANY Suggestion is welcome. Please.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Separate him, I will do this quite often with teenagers, their hormones are raging, some worst than others, my ducks are with my chickens, they bicker now and again, but never any mating. Separate him for a few months and let him out occasionally to see how he behaves, he should calm down as fall approaches, most will grow out of it, only time will tell, some of mine are separated for up to 6 months, he will continue his reign of terror otherwise.

 

[youngchooklover]

Stats involved in issue

4 Pekin Ducks 2 Drakes 2 hens 18 weeks
4 Easter Egger hens 18 weeks
1 Easter Egger Rooster 18 weeks old
3 Easter Egger hens 9 to 13 weeks old

All of the 18 week old birds were purchased at a few days old, at the same place, and all raised together. The 3 younger Easter Eggers I got 2 months later. There was a short adjustment period but the 18 week old and younger birds seemed to get along. At night they ALL slept in the same 16 by 24 foot pen. And they are let out during the day to wander around the acreage.

Everything was fine until about a week ago when the Rooster began trying to mate with anything the stood still or was moving. The ducks and older birds seem to handle the attentions of this rooster in stride, but the Rooster seems to Particularly like the YOUNGER birds who ARE NOT dealing with his attention very well. I actually think they could hurt themselves trying to get away from him. a few mornings ago one of the younger birds ran off into the thicket trying to get away from him and didn't come back until bedtime.

I put a small pen inside the bigger pen and put a small door on it so the younger birds can go in and out but the Rooster could not. Unfortunately the rooster just waits them out and jumps on them when they come out and RELENTLESSLY pursues them.

Is this a phase the Teenage Rooster is going through?

Will he grow out of it?

Should I separate HIM from the rest of the Birds for awhile?

Are the ducks living with the chickens contributing to this problem?

How can I resolve this issue?

ANY Suggestion is welcome. Please.

Yes roosters will go though a over mating stage but not that bad. I say he's just a bad rooster and that you should get ride of him.

 

[DanEP]

I'd seperate him till the younger girls are a little older and better able to cope with him and some of his hormones have settled down a bit. If that doesn't work get rid of him and get another rooster .

 

[aart]

Yup, just a randy cockerel (won't be a rooster until one year of age).
They can be total idiots, they don't know what they're doing and either do the pullets(not hens until one year of age).
Males become sexually mature younger than their female hatch mates, so things can be ugly for awhile.
An adult rooster will not try to mate an immature pullet.

Separation of cockerel might help, or get rid of him(they are pretty tasty n the grills right about the time they start causing trouble).
If your goal is to incubate eggs in the future, nice adult roosters are often available for free.
I have given away a couple that were too nice to eat.
And it's pretty easy to integrate an adult rooster or even a cockerel into a flock at after the pullets have been laying for a few months.

 

[DanEP]

One added benefit of raising a cockerel with older girls is the older girls will help teach him manners. They won't allow him to think he's the top dog at 5 months old.

 

[FlyOverZone]

Thanks for all the advice. It was helpful. I've built a pen inside the pen for him about 8 by 6 foot. I feel bad for him because he's normally a pretty good boy and he looks so sad in that pen all by himself. But it's for his own good. I'll give him a couple of months and see how he does in the fall.

If there is anything else I could do, toys for a lonely rooster, or treats that would be good and distracting for him, let me know. This is my first flock. ANY advice is probably something I don't know.

 

[CrazyTalk]

What's happening here is you have a sexually mature rooster, and a bunch of hens that aren't sexually mature - as far as he's concerned they're freeloaders - they either need to submit or get out of his territory. This is totally normal rooster behavior.

Like others said - it will sort itself out as soon as the girls are sexually mature.

 

[aart]

Yeah, he won't be happy.
Just don't be anxious around him(don't let his anxiety get to you), care for him same as the other birds, give him treats when the others get them.
Hang in there, steep part of the learning curve.

 

[FlyOverZone]

What's happening here is you have a sexually mature rooster, and a bunch of hens that aren't sexually mature - as far as he's concerned they're freeloaders - they either need to submit or get out of his territory. This is totally normal rooster behavior.

Like others said - it will sort itself out as soon as the girls are sexually mature.

This actually seems to match what I'm seeing precisely The rooster's mating drive seems to get ramped up by the young pullets' resistance to him. Oddly enough, the Ducks seem to run to the aid of the Pullets if the noise gets too loud for too long. The Ducks will chase after the Rooster who is chasing the Pullet and grab at his tail feathers with their bill. It's not very aggressive, but it is disruptive enough to help the Pullet escape.