If I keep my rooster am I just asking for trouble?

[pollopdx]

I have a couple of issues going on, and I'm not sure if they're related. I have just a year's worth of experience with my flock. I have 4 hens about a year old, and just introduced 3 new pullets who were about 8 weeks. They were outside of the henhouse at night in their own open air cage, but a raccoon got in and got one. So I moved the other two inside the henhouse. Now one of them has turned out to be a rooster. So I have 5 girls and Brewster the rooster. All in one henhouse that's sized for 6. They sleep in it at night but have access to roam a large yard in the daytime so they aren't in a chicken run.

I'm on the fence whether to keep this guy. I don't plan to let any eggs incubate at least for a year and then only if I lost some of my flock. It wasn't my intent to have a rooster in the flock. But he's cute and he's already here, and I figure maybe it's fine to have him around. I understand he could be useful to protect the flock from hawks (though hawks haven't been our issue even though they're around - it's raccoons). From reading some other threads it sounds like I need to know a lot more about roosters in general and flock management - I do feel out of my element. Here are a few questions I have:

*Where can I read good information on whether/how to keep a rooster in a flock? Not for show breeding or egg hatching, but just really because he turned out to be a boy and he's already here.
*He's about 9 weeks vs the older hens, is that a problem or ok?
*He only has one girl his age, and she's always been extremely timid, now after the raccoon attack she basically tries to live attached to him. I'm not sure how that will go when she's older, will she be the only one to get his attention and is that too much for her?
*He became a little aggressive with me last week, pecking at my fingers when I tried to pet him. I've started feeding him by hand a little to get him used to me and he's calmed down. Seems fairly friendly, he'll run up to me to see what I'm up to. Does any of that sound like he could be a problem in the future?
*If it's better to rehome/cull him, what age is best to remove him from my other girl (same age) who is so timid? I fear if I removed him now she'd be completely lost and alone... the other hens pretty much ignore her right now but I'm not sure how it would go if she were solo.

Finally, I'm not sure if this issue is related or not. As it is getting warmer, a few of my older girls have been more reluctant to go to bed inside, and keep roosting on top of the henhouse at night instead of going inside. I have an auto-close door so they keep getting locked out, I have to go out and pull them off the house and put them inside. Tonight I caught them at it before bedtime and tried to get them to go in, and they were really resisting. I left them alone and all but one ended up going in before the door closed. Once it's closed and she's alone, then I think she gets that she doesn't actually want to be outside and exposed so she went in ok. But my question is whether the presence of a rooster in the house could be triggering this behavior? It's happened infrequently in the past when the weather is suddenly warmer one night, but they seem to be really hesitant about going in over the last week which is when the new guy started sleeping inside. Not sure if it's connected.

Thanks in advance for thoughts and advice!

 

[cavemanrich]

Your rooster should be fine,,, and I don't think his presence is contributing to some of the issues you are experiencing.
As long as Rooster is not dangerously aggressive,, to you, or family members,,,(especially children) , he should be fine with your flock. Are there restrictions on roosters in your town??? There are in my area. Another thing to consider; The rooster crowing noise. Will it cause neighbors to be mad at you??
Now to your chicken security from Raccoons. Make sure that all your chickens are inside coop for the night. That is the time raccoons are active.
Is your coop large enough??
Make sure that you have plenty of ventilation available in your coop. I have no idea how your coop is,,,, but can you provide a large securely screened (with hardware cloth, not chicken wire) opening for summer cooling??

WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[Ridgerunner]

*Where can I read good information on whether/how to keep a rooster in a flock? Not for show breeding or egg hatching, but just really because he turned out to be a boy and he's already here.

You can get a lot of information on this forum about keeping a rooster. I consider most of it paranoid, over-blown, and not necessarily very accurate. The potentials for problems are real potentials but many people keep boys and don't have those issues. Each chicken, male or female, young or old, has its own personality and each flock has its own dynamics. You can get wildly different results.

To me the only basic difference in having one male in the flock is in feeding them. Like your chicks a male does not need the extra calcium in Layer that the hens do for making their eggshells. My suggestion for feeding them is to offer all of them a low-calcium feed with oyster shell on the side.

The more males you keep the more potential you have for issues. That does not mean you are guaranteed problems, just that the more males you have the more likely you are to have issues. My recommendation is to keep as few males as you can and still meet your goals. If your goals do not include roosters then your perfect number is zero.

*He's about 9 weeks vs the older hens, is that a problem or ok?

My immature chickens tend to avoid the adults until they mature enough themselves to force their way into the pecking order. With my pullets that is generally about the time they start laying. You can always get exceptions but the girls are typically pretty straightforward.

There is nothing straightforward about the boys. Some of that depends on the boy's personality and how fast they mature. A lot depends on the personality of the hens, especially your dominant hen. A lot of different things could happen as a boy matures in a flock of older hens.

1 - Things may go so smooth you don't notice any issues. It is not likely but possible.

2 - One or more older hen may seek him out to do serious bodily harm that could lead to death. This could happen with either chick just because they are chicks but it sounds like it is not. In the context of him maturing a dominant hen may take an intense dislike toward him when she recognizes that he is in puberty. This doesn't happen often but is a possibility. The same thing can happen if you have a dominant rooster in the flock, he may see the youngster as a rival for flock dominance.

3 - Once he hits a certain level of maturity he may start chasing the hens, trying to mate them. That is not trying to fertilize the eggs, that is more about trying to win flock dominance. Some hens may mate him willingly, many seem to run away, and some may fight him.

4- At some point he will become the dominant flock master. With mine that is usually a fairly peaceful takeover though puberty can be pretty rough. Or it could mean a serious fight or series of fights with the dominant hen.

All of the bad results are more likely if room is tight. Your coop is pretty tight but you seem to have plenty of room outside. I don't know how this will work out for you.

*He only has one girl his age, and she's always been extremely timid, now after the raccoon attack she basically tries to live attached to him. I'm not sure how that will go when she's older, will she be the only one to get his attention and is that too much for her?

She is your problem. I would not worry about her being over-mated buy him. That is possible but it would be way down on my worry list. It is hard for a single chicken to integrate, especially an immature one. They are flock animals and want to be with other flock animals. But if she violates the personal space of a mature hen she is likely to get pecked. By herself she will want to approach the others but may get pecked if she does. Part of what you are seeing in their behavior may be partly due to the raccoon attack but it's probably mostly because she doesn't have anybody else.

Sometimes they can mingle a lot more than I'm describing. The hens may accept him and her into the flock even at a young age. That boils down to the individual personalities involved. I don't have any easy or sure answers for you. My suggestion is to base your actions on what you actually see, not what some stranger like ne over the internet tells you that you will see.

*He became a little aggressive with me last week, pecking at my fingers when I tried to pet him. I've started feeding him by hand a little to get him used to me and he's calmed down. Seems fairly friendly, he'll run up to me to see what I'm up to. Does any of that sound like he could be a problem in the future?

Too early to tell. At that age I don't consider that human aggressive behavior. I'd give him some time.

But my question is whether the presence of a rooster in the house could be triggering this behavior?

At that age he is not a rooster. I doubt he has anything to do with them sleeping on top. He should be a lot more afraid of them than they are of him.

 

[pollopdx]

@Ridgerunner

You can get a lot of information on this forum about keeping a rooster. I consider most of it paranoid, over-blown, and not necessarily very accurate. The potentials for problems are real potentials but many people keep boys and don't have those issues. Each chicken, male or female, young or old, has its own personality and each flock has its own dynamics. You can get wildly different results.

To me the only basic difference in having one male in the flock is in feeding them. Like your chicks a male does not need the extra calcium in Layer that the hens do for making their eggshells. My suggestion for feeding them is to offer all of them a low-calcium feed with oyster shell on the side.

The more males you keep the more potential you have for issues. That does not mean you are guaranteed problems, just that the more males you have the more likely you are to have issues. My recommendation is to keep as few males as you can and still meet your goals. If your goals do not include roosters then your perfect number is zero.


My immature chickens tend to avoid the adults until they mature enough themselves to force their way into the pecking order. With my pullets that is generally about the time they start laying. You can always get exceptions but the girls are typically pretty straightforward.

There is nothing straightforward about the boys. Some of that depends on the boy's personality and how fast they mature. A lot depends on the personality of the hens, especially your dominant hen. A lot of different things could happen as a boy matures in a flock of older hens.

1 - Things may go so smooth you don't notice any issues. It is not likely but possible.

2 - One or more older hen may seek him out to do serious bodily harm that could lead to death. This could happen with either chick just because they are chicks but it sounds like it is not. In the context of him maturing a dominant hen may take an intense dislike toward him when she recognizes that he is in puberty. This doesn't happen often but is a possibility. The same thing can happen if you have a dominant rooster in the flock, he may see the youngster as a rival for flock dominance.

3 - Once he hits a certain level of maturity he may start chasing the hens, trying to mate them. That is not trying to fertilize the eggs, that is more about trying to win flock dominance. Some hens may mate him willingly, many seem to run away, and some may fight him.

4- At some point he will become the dominant flock master. With mine that is usually a fairly peaceful takeover though puberty can be pretty rough. Or it could mean a serious fight or series of fights with the dominant hen.

All of the bad results are more likely if room is tight. Your coop is pretty tight but you seem to have plenty of room outside. I don't know how this will work out for you.


She is your problem. I would not worry about her being over-mated buy him. That is possible but it would be way down on my worry list. It is hard for a single chicken to integrate, especially an immature one. They are flock animals and want to be with other flock animals. But if she violates the personal space of a mature hen she is likely to get pecked. By herself she will want to approach the others but may get pecked if she does. Part of what you are seeing in their behavior may be partly due to the raccoon attack but it's probably mostly because she doesn't have anybody else.

Sometimes they can mingle a lot more than I'm describing. The hens may accept him and her into the flock even at a young age. That boils down to the individual personalities involved. I don't have any easy or sure answers for you. My suggestion is to base your actions on what you actually see, not what some stranger like ne over the internet tells you that you will see.


Too early to tell. At that age I don't consider that human aggressive behavior. I'd give him some time.


At that age he is not a rooster. I doubt he has anything to do with them sleeping on top. He should be a lot more afraid of them than they are of him.

@Ridgerunner this is exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for, thanks so much for going through each question!! It sounds like I should give it some more time and observe how they're all doing.

 

[Mrs. K]

When you say that the coop is designed for 6 birds, and you say, they are roosting on the top of the coop instead of going into it, and you say that you are a bit of a novice, I start to worry that this mean you have a pre-fab coop.

Integration is always tough in small spaces, and really those pre-fab coops grossly over estimate how many birds will really fit in there without problems.

Your pullet will gain status with the other hens, when she starts laying eggs. Until then, she and the cockerel are a sub flock. It is kind of neat to see that disappear one day when they are adult birds.

Make a plan B for the cockerel. Have it set up and ready to go. A long handled fish net can be handy for catching a bird especially an aggressive bird. Have a dog crate at hand to put him in if needed. Roosters are a crap shoot - some turn out marvelous, and a lot do not.

Mrs K

 

[arazla]

I'd recommend watching a few videos by roovolution on youtube or joining rooster allies on facebook if you're looking for the most humane insight into rooster behavior and management. They are on their job 24/7 to protect and care for hens and that means they sometimes misread cues. So off-hand, keep in mind that roosters can be triggered by different things such as colors, patterns, sudden movements, cell phones, etc. That's why mixing small children and roosters should be done with caution and only when you know your rooster well. I've also come to believe, that just like crows, all birds can hold grudges and that means chickens too. It's important to learn the difference early between flogging and mating attempts and/or bites for attention, as all may be painful, but the latter is often an expression of how close they feel towards you rather than the opposite. If there are issues, appropriate clothing and a calm voice goes a long way and it's often a lot simpler than what people suggest. High muck boots, sturdy pants and gloves provide a helpful layer of protection.

Personally, I love my roosters soooo much. They are full of personality, curious, beautiful, cuddly, and the only pets I've had that actually like to share

 

[pollopdx]

When you say that the coop is designed for 6 birds, and you say, they are roosting on the top of the coop instead of going into it, and you say that you are a bit of a novice, I start to worry that this mean you have a pre-fab coop.

Integration is always tough in small spaces, and really those pre-fab coops grossly over estimate how many birds will really fit in there without problems.

Your pullet will gain status with the other hens, when she starts laying eggs. Until then, she and the cockerel are a sub flock. It is kind of neat to see that disappear one day when they are adult birds.

Make a plan B for the cockerel. Have it set up and ready to go. A long handled fish net can be handy for catching a bird especially an aggressive bird. Have a dog crate at hand to put him in if needed. Roosters are a crap shoot - some turn out marvelous, and a lot do not.

Mrs K

Sigh... yes it's a prefab coop and despite all the research I did to get the best option, I do think you're right that the older girls are feeling crowded. Now 1-2 are staying on the roof and the babies are sleeping in the nest box to stay out of the way. What a mess.

Great tips, about the cockerel, thanks so much!

 

[pollopdx]

Your rooster should be fine,,, and I don't think his presence is contributing to some of the issues you are experiencing.
As long as Rooster is not dangerously aggressive,, to you, or family members,,,(especially children) , he should be fine with your flock. Are there restrictions on roosters in your town??? There are in my area. Another thing to consider; The rooster crowing noise. Will it cause neighbors to be mad at you??
Now to your chicken security from Raccoons. Make sure that all your chickens are inside coop for the night. That is the time raccoons are active.
Is your coop large enough??
Make sure that you have plenty of ventilation available in your coop. I have no idea how your coop is,,,, but can you provide a large securely screened (with hardware cloth, not chicken wire) opening for summer cooling??

WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Thanks for all the ideas! I think it's the coop size. Ugh. I think we're going to need a second coop. Right now the little guy crowing is cute, I don't mind it (for now!) We're in the country so no issues with neighbors or restrictions.

 

[pollopdx]

I'd recommend watching a few videos by roovolution on youtube or joining rooster allies on facebook if you're looking for the most humane insight into rooster behavior and management. They are on their job 24/7 to protect and care for hens and that means they sometimes misread cues. So off-hand, keep in mind that roosters can be triggered by different things such as colors, patterns, sudden movements, cell phones, etc. That's why mixing small children and roosters should be done with caution and only when you know your rooster well. I've also come to believe, that just like crows, all birds can hold grudges and that means chickens too. It's important to learn the difference early between flogging and mating attempts and/or bites for attention, as all may be painful, but the latter is often an expression of how close they feel towards you rather than the opposite. If there are issues, appropriate clothing and a calm voice goes a long way and it's often a lot simpler than what people suggest. High muck boots, sturdy pants and gloves provide a helpful layer of protection.

Personally, I love my roosters soooo much. They are full of personality, curious, beautiful, cuddly, and the only pets I've had that actually like to share

I'll check out the youtube channel - thanks!! Yes the pecking was pretty minimal and half curious, but now he tolerates me reaching out to give him a little pet.

 

[Mrs. K]

Thing is - chickens really have no understanding of the the future - and won't wait for the new coop. Might need to downsize now, and upsize after the new coop is built. Overcrowding can cause a lot of problems.