Integrating single cockerel into large flock - tips?

[aart]

Do you think behaviors like this would be influenced by some genetic trait in chickens?

Maaayyybeee...but I think it has much more to do with individual birds and the environment including other flock members.

 

[3KillerBs]

Do you think behaviors like this would be influenced by some genetic trait in chickens?

Many people have reported that human-aggression is heritable. Game fowl breeders will tell you that bird-aggression is definitely heritable -- it's been bred into those breeds for thousands of years.

I have no statistically valid personal experience, though I *can* say that the only bad-attitude cockerel I've had was the grandson of an aggressive rooster.

 

[rural mouse]

@3KillerBs @aart @rural mouse
Do you think behaviors like this would be influenced by some genetic trait in chickens?
If I have to cull George, I wouldn't mind tolerating him long enough to get a few clutches of eggs in the incubators first - but if there's a tendency for that trait to be passed on, I may not wait.
George has clean white feathers, while Sam has some straw and brownish splotches - and I've read that if I want to breed to standard (maybe?), the feathers should be pure white. It's why I put Sam in with the Heritage flock as a backup roo, while I kept George with the pullets.

Were you handling the hens with George? Petting down the back is MATING behavior, so if you stroke the girls' backs in front of him, you're trying to STEAL his girls. Bringing a hand in from underneath and stroking the breast/rubbing the crop doesn't have this effect.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/understanding-your-rooster.75056/

This article is VERY helpful with roos

 

[BarnyardChaos]

Were you handling the hens with George? Petting down the back is MATING behavior, so if you stroke the girls' backs in front of him, you're trying to STEAL his girls. Bringing a hand in from underneath and stroking the breast/rubbing the crop doesn't have this effect.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/understanding-your-rooster.75056/

This article is VERY helpful with roos

No, I haven't handled them at all since I brought them home. They're so skittish, I've just been trying to get them used to my presence before attempting to touch them. Their pen IS, however, located in a corner of a larger pen "Camp Cockerel" that currently contains 17 cockerels at almost the same age, who are due for slaughter in mid-July.
I'd bet my next paycheck that's the problem with George, poor frazzled boy!

He IS very protective of his pullets. He positions himself between me and them every time I enter their pen. Even inside the hutch, he puts the girls in the corner and himself between them and the pop-door.

I have noticed in the last few days that these cockerels tend to linger around the fence that divides their pen from George's. I had thought it was just interest in the newcomers, but now I think it's more likely interest in the females. They're still mostly just happy little boys, not fighting, for now.....

I might be butchering cockerels a bit sooner than I had planned, too. I'll find out if George calms down then, I suppose.

Thank you for the link. Very educational! I am a follower of @Shadrach .

 

[Mrs. K]

The longer I am in chickens the more positive I am that it is a crapshoot. Some work, some don't. I have had fabulous roosters, and a lot of so- so roosters, and a couple of ones I just didn't like, and a couple that were aggressive - but not for long.

I can see that temptation for the white feathers. What do the hens look like? They are your birds - good luck.

You have two really great roosters - maybe you have the magic touch.

Mrs K

 

[rural mouse]

No, I haven't handled them at all since I brought them home. They're so skittish, I've just been trying to get them used to my presence before attempting to touch them. Their pen IS, however, located in a corner of a larger pen "Camp Cockerel" that currently contains 17 cockerels at almost the same age, who are due for slaughter in mid-July.
I'd bet my next paycheck that's the problem with George, poor frazzled boy!

He IS very protective of his pullets. He positions himself between me and them every time I enter their pen. Even inside the hutch, he puts the girls in the corner and himself between them and the pop-door.

I have noticed in the last few days that these cockerels tend to linger around the fence that divides their pen from George's. I had thought it was just interest in the newcomers, but now I think it's more likely interest in the females. They're still mostly just happy little boys, not fighting, for now.....

I might be butchering cockerels a bit sooner than I had planned, too. I'll find out if George calms down then, I suppose.

Thank you for the link. Very educational! I am a follower of @Shadrach .

I keep coming back to that article. Every time I read it something else I've seen in my birds suddenly makes sense in ways I hadn't seen before.

Definitely sounds like the cockerels are at least a contributing factor. Bribes for him to tidbit with are good too. I know Shad uses walnuts. Mine love bananas, mushrooms (the basic white), grapes, and sardines. Grapes get split in 2-3 pieces, bananas split lengthwise into 1/3rds, then broken into 1/2-1/4 inch bits. Sardines and mushrooms get broken into similar sizes- too. Some of these are messier than others- but it helps in spreading 2 bananas amongst 20+ birds. I try to save the sardines for moulting seasons. I know blueberries are frequently popular, and cheez-its for a less healthy treat.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

I can see that temptation for the white feathers. What do the hens look like?

They are the purest cleanest white, with dense, tight feathers and nice erect tails. Here's the whole group, Sam at left, George at right:

You have two really great roosters - maybe you have the magic touch.

Thank you Or maybe I'm just really lucky. I've had to put down an aggressive rooster only once. All the others I've had left by attrition one way or another. I had a bantam old english game cock for a few years who was the most aggressive I've ever had. But he was so tiny, he didn't do any damage but made a lot of noise and flapping at my legs. He got kicked across the pen more than a few times. He lost an eye to one of the other chickens, but still soldiered on. Best predator alarm I've ever had, cutest little crow, and great entertainment, especially with that one eye - so we kept him, until he got a little too brave with the dogs. I had to end his misery myself, and cried my own eyes out doing it. RIP, Little Shit.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

I keep coming back to that article. Every time I read it something else I've seen in my birds suddenly makes sense in ways I hadn't seen before.

Definitely sounds like the cockerels are at least a contributing factor. Bribes for him to tidbit with are good too. I know Shad uses walnuts. Mine love bananas, mushrooms (the basic white), grapes, and sardines. Grapes get split in 2-3 pieces, bananas split lengthwise into 1/3rds, then broken into 1/2-1/4 inch bits. Sardines and mushrooms get broken into similar sizes- too. Some of these are messier than others- but it helps in spreading 2 bananas amongst 20+ birds. I try to save the sardines for moulting seasons. I know blueberries are frequently popular, and cheez-its for a less healthy treat.

The mulberries are just about to ripen, and my birds go bonkers for them. I should freeze as many as I can for year-round treats, eh?

 

[rural mouse]

The mulberries are just about to ripen, and my birds go bonkers for them. I should freeze as many as I can for year-round treats, eh?

Maybe dry them instead?

 

[BarnyardChaos]

Update on the integration for Sam: I believe I can now say it's complete. Yay!

The first day (Monday) out of the integration area, he ventured outside the coop and promptly got the wits scared out of him. So he huddled under the coop all day (8'x22', raised 14-16" off the ground), scooting from one hidey-hole to another while my two roosters gave brief chase whenever he tried to come into the open. He's a fast little sucker! I put food and water in a few different places underneath, so he wouldn't go thirsty or hungry. The hens mingled with him and gave him no bother at all. He found his way back inside at dusk, but chose to roost by himself in the front integration area.

Tuesday and Wednesday he stayed inside the coop, but on the roosting bars where the roos couldn't bother him. He got to know ALL of the rest of the flock a few at a time, while the hens came and went inside to pay their rent. I keep food and water inside, too - below the nesting boxes, and I put some on an upper level so he could reach it without going to the floor and risking a rooster ambush. Both nights he roosted with the flock, in close proximity to several friendly hens.

Sometime today, he ventured out again and mostly stayed in hiding under the coop again. BUT when I let everyone out to free range, I tossed some scratch near the coop and he came out to enjoy it with a few hens who lagged behind. This is the FIRST time I've witnessed him eating alongside members of the flock. At roosting time, I watched him push past a few hens to his favorite spot (less than 3' from Goldie, my lead rooster) instead of scooting away from them.

And with that, I think I can say integration is 99% complete.

I'll keep watch still, until I see him out and about mingling with the flock in the open. But MY part of managing his integration is done. It's all on him now!