Is it size or is it confidence?

[Darius123]

Hi! I always had this question in mind but i was not sure , and i would apreciate if you could tell me if this is the truth.

So i have a brahma cockerel extremely big compared to the flock he is in, but he gets bullied by some small, small serama like hens.
This has lead me to believe that its not the size that matters, its the attitude and the confidence, right? Cause i have had some mean cockerels that would fight
every hen in order for them to mate.
So the question that i have is that i dont necesarily need a big rooster for my main flock, i just need a small and mean one that in confident?
(I cant afford the loud brahmas in my area anymore, but a small one is acceptable).

 

[sourland]

"It's not the size of the dog in the fight - it's the size of the fight in the dog." Applies to chickens too.

 

[nuthatched]

Yes, its the size of the fight in the dog, not the size of the dog in the fight.
However, your brahma is the better cockerel. A cockerel terrorizing the hens to mate is not acceptable behavior. Unless you want fertile eggs, there's not much reason to have a rooster.

 

[Ridgerunner]

My first question on behaviors like this, how old are they. The boys and the girls. Degree of maturity and relative maturity has a huge effect on how they behave.

So i have a brahma cockerel extremely big compared to the flock he is in, but he gets bullied by some small, small serama like hens.
This has lead me to believe that its not the size that matters, its the attitude and the confidence, right?

Yes, attitude and confidence. A lot of that can depend on maturity. There are plenty of mixed flocks where the dominant chicken is a bantam while there are several full-sized chickens in the flock. That's even if they are all the same age.

More mature chickens generally dominate less mature chickens until they catch up in maturity. It's not really about age nearly as much as maturity but age can be a guide to maturity. And thanks for mentioning that the cockerel is a Brahma, Brahmas are known to be slow maturing.

Mature hens or more mature pullets can sometimes be pretty brutal to insecure immature cockerels. Some immature cockerels can be pretty aggressive toward mating pullets and hens. It's their adolescent hormones flowing and telling them to take over the flock. The boys sometimes fight each other for flock dominance, sometimes they work together. Watching cockerels go through puberty can be pretty hard as it can get really rough, but if you can get past that things usually settle down when they hit maturity. That's both boys and girls hitting maturity, not just the boys.

Cause i have had some mean cockerels that would fight
every hen in order for them to mate.
So the question that i have is that i dont necesarily need a big rooster for my main flock, i just need a small and mean one that in confident?

Depends on why you want a rooster. The only reason you need a rooster is if you want fertile eggs. Anything else is personal preference. Nothing wrong with personal preference, I have a few of my own, but those are wants, not needs. Many people are quite happy to not have any roosters, others would not have a flock without one.

(I cant afford the loud brahmas in my area anymore, but a small one is acceptable).

Not sure what's going on here but that doesn't matter. Your business. When he matures that Brahma will probably try to mate with the Serama hens. While many people have flocks where that happens without problems, that is a lot of weight difference and injuries could happen. Maybe another reason the Brahma may not be your best choice.

 

[3KillerBs]

(I cant afford the loud brahmas in my area anymore, but a small one is acceptable).

Personally, I find the deep-toned crowing from the larger breeds more pleasant than the sometimes shrill crowing from the small ones, but a Brahma mating a Serama sounds like a potential problem due to the size/weight discrepancy.

When I had my in-town flock with a Light Brahma rooster the Brahma girls were fine but all the smaller girls had bare backs -- and they weren't tiny bantams.