Is my rooster man enough?

[Cranky Steve]

Hi everyone - appreciate some advice.
We have had chooks for a while and we recently used a couple of broody hens to get 14 more birds. They are growing up and some are roosters. The one we want to keep as the flocks rooster was getting bashed by the older girls the other day. Will testosterone (or the chook equivalent) ever kick in and will he become boss? Or is he destined to always be down the pecking order?

Cheers

 

[Shadrach]

Hi everyone - appreciate some advice.
We have had chooks for a while and we recently used a couple of broody hens to get 14 more birds. They are growing up and some are roosters. The one we want to keep as the flocks rooster was getting bashed by the older girls the other day. Will testosterone (or the chook equivalent) ever kick in and will he become boss? Or is he destined to always be down the pecking order?

Cheers

How old is the one you want to keep.
If he is still a cockerel (under a year old) then getting bashed by stroppy females is par for the course.
Eventually he will gain the confidence of the hens and some of his own.

 

[crazy4ChickensNducks]

this happened with my young rooster when we integrated a batch of pullets and apparently a cockerel into my laying flock. The rooster never left the coop and the hens were constantly picking on him.

 

[chickens really]

Cockerels need to mature and win over the ladies. All normal behaviour.

 

[centrarchid]

Mine generally do not effectively assert themselves consistently with respect to hens until they are 7 to 8 months old. Further maturation will occur resulting in such males not only out ranking all females, but also being able to attract them and maintain stable social groups of adult females.

 

[centrarchid]

Mine generally do not effectively assert themselves consistently with respect to hens until they are 7 to 8 months old. Further maturation will occur resulting in such males not only out ranking all females, but also being able to attract them and maintain stable social groups of adult females.

The rare male not asserting himself by 8 months is likely one that has issues and thus not one to keep.

 

[Ridgerunner]

My experiences pretty much mirror Centrarchid's. Each chicken, male and female, is an individual. I once had a cockerel about 5 months old capable of dominating older hens and basically being the flock master. I also once had a cockerel that could not manage that until he was 11 months old. The 11 month old got the job done but was not my best rooster. On average I'd say 7 months is a good number but it can vary. Typically by 5 months the cockerels are chasing and mating pullets their own age (usually by force) and maybe a few less dominant hens. This can look quite violent. The 7 month number is when mine typically have won over all the mature hens and it calms down a lot.

What people tend to ignore is that females are individuals too. When you have a flock of hens with no dominant male the dominant hen often takes on many of the roles and responsibilities of a dominant rooster. Some dominant hens are more willing than others to give up the role of being boss. That 11 month old, for example. By 7 month she was fertilizing some pullets and less dominant hens but the dominant hen would knock him off if she saw him to let him know she was boss. When he finally matured enough to stand up to her (he was a lot bigger) they fought for two days before she finally gave up and submitted to him. Some hens seem to be glad to give up those responsibilities.

Thee are always exceptions to anything we call normal in chicken behaviors, it just works that way with individuals and their different personalities. How we manage them can make a difference too, whether they totally free range or we keep them confined in a pen of some size. But unless you have some really strange chickens at some point he will fertilize the eggs and take on the other roles of flock master. I just can't tell you a specific age because I've seen it vary so much.

 

[Cranky Steve]

Thanks everyone. He's a damn fine looking bird - a French marron - so I'll persist with him. He's only about 5 old atm, so all good for now. Cheers

 

[Mrs. K]

Personally I think you get better behaving roosters that have had a few thumps, and had to work his way up.

 

[Chickassan]

He's still in diapers good sir. He will take a good two more months to even think about wooing the low ranking ladies.
As has been said it does depend on the bird's personalities, some hens are stupid hard to impress.
In my flock my very much mature "2 years" rooster just managed to win over my top hen.
He's been trying for a year and a half with her, she'd beat him bloody.
Now she puts the goods on the table without bloodshed, he's finally good enough.
Don't put too much pressure on your young fella, his life isn't ever going to get easier.

Thanks everyone. He's a damn fine looking bird - a French marron - so I'll persist with him. He's only about 5 old atm, so all good for now. Cheers