Instinct or Aggression and what to do?

[aart]

Have you ever handled the girls this way before...how did he react then?
Hard to say if you want to deal with this or not.
Parts of the issue are small space and high hormones, his and maybe the girls getting close to lay.
If he's mating the girls and they are not near laying, that would be a red flag for me.
Sorry, Joe no pat answers.

 

[JoeInPA]

Have you ever handled the girls this way before...how did he react then?
Hard to say if you want to deal with this or not.
Parts of the issue are small space and high hormones, his and maybe the girls getting close to lay.
If he's mating the girls and they are not near laying, that would be a red flag for me.
Sorry, Joe no pat answers.

I haven't picked any of them up in some time. He didnt react the same way the last time I had to pick one up.

Is the space too small? I went by the rule of thumb- 10 sq ft per bird in the run and 4 sq ft per bird in the coop. Actually it's slightly bigger.

I haven't actually seen him mating with them but he does the circling around and stomping and tries to grab ahold of them. I heard a loud screech from all of them today. When I went to check on them they looked fine but I'm guessing he was behind it.

Not sure what to do. He used to only be rowdy in the morning but now he's doing it throughout the day.

 

[aart]

Is the space too small? I went by the rule of thumb- 10 sq ft per bird in the run and 4 sq ft per bird in the coop. Actually it's slightly bigger.

I think we've been over this before,
but 'Rule of Thumb' does not mean 'will absolutely work great no matter the circumstances'.
Might be fine for an all female flock or with that rare gentleman cockerel who leaves pullets alone until they are ready, but if he's chasing them and harassing them all day and they can't get away from him, that is very stressful for the girls.
I really don't know what to advise for your immediate situation as I've never had it.
Some folks get rid of the male, or seclude them in a separate enclosure to give the girls a break....neither of which I think you want to or can do.

 

[JoeInPA]

I think we've been over this before,
but 'Rule of Thumb' does not mean 'will absolutely work great no matter the circumstances'.
Might be fine for an all female flock or with that rare gentleman cockerel who leaves pullets alone until they are ready, but if he's chasing them and harassing them all day and they can't get away from him, that is very stressful for the girls.
I really don't know what to advise for your immediate situation as I've never had it.
Some folks get rid of the male, or seclude them in a separate enclosure to give the girls a break....neither of which I think you want to or can do.

Yeah I don't have any great options here. I think I'm going to list him on Craigslist for free and see if I can find someone who wants him. Not what I'd like to do, but I think it's for the best.

 

[aart]

Yeah I don't have any great options here. I think I'm going to list him on Craigslist for free and see if I can find someone who wants him. Not what I'd like to do, but I think it's for the best.

Meanwhile you might get a wire crate, good to have anyway, to give the girls a break.

 

[JoeInPA]

Noticed some interesting behavior today. I fed them some scratch (probably their favorite treat besides bread) out of my hand and the rooster was okay with it. He didnt eat any but he just stood back a couple feet and watched. He was okay with me petting them too. When I threw some scratch in the pen the rooster went right up and ate it, but not out of my hand.

Later from inside I heard a bunch of loud clucking, not screeching or yelps, but clucks. I figured the rooster was up to his antics again, but when I got outside to check it out, he was standing at the pop door to the coop and the hens were all inside. Kind of odd. When I looked around the hens seemed calm and fine.

Trying to figure out what happened, I looked around and then saw a whole bunch of deer up in the woods. I'm guessing he saw the deer and sounded the alarm, got the hens inside and was guarding the door.

Not that deer are particularly dangerous to chickens, but they could've just as easily been coyotes. So I can't that he isn't protective.

 

[JoeInPA]

I decided to let them all out of the run for the first time since I've really had them just to see what they would do. They stayed together and pecked around for a couple minutes then all but one went back inside the run on their own.

When I went to retrieve the runaway (probably the same one that ran out last time, I can't tell them apart) I picked her up and the rooster was once again pissed. He was jumping up at me while I walked around the run and when I opened up the door to let the runaway hen back in, he came at me. I gave him a kick and he tried to come back at me until the hen got fully inside the run.

So obviously picking them up is the boundary he does not want crossed.

 

[aart]

So obviously picking them up is the boundary he does not want crossed.

Definitely a trigger, BTDT, took months for the bone bruise on my hand to heal up...
....he needs to learn that you won't hurt them.
Might try holding the girl outside the run until he calms down, talking softly that it's OK.
Let him observe....time consuming, especially in the winter.

 

[JoeInPA]

Well I found a new home for my rooster today. A guy and his wife and kids came and picked him up. He said he had a bunch of acreage and a whole bunch of hens, and no other roosters, which is what he probably needs.

The chickens were already asleep on the roost when he came and picked him up and the rooster was not very happy about being pulled from his roost, but once I was holding him he was just fine.

I'm a little sad to see him go, but I think he's going to a pretty good home; better than what I can provide for him. Hopefully my girls will be a little happier too.

In better news I got my first egg! It was laying in the corner of the coop. Not sure who laid it. It's a little small but otherwise looks normal.

 

[JoeInPA]

Also now that the rooster is gone, is there anything I should do to make sure the hens are okay? He's been with all of them since the beginning so I'm not sure how they will react to him being gone.