Is the rooster always in charge?

[towen91]

just curious here. My flock consist of 3 pullets between 10 and 12 weeks old, and a cockerel who is 11 weeks old. All of the are SLW. We brought home 4 chicks and unfortunately lost one of the girls, so a few days ago we replaced her with another pullet of the same breed age and size. Like you would expect, there has been fighting, chasing all of that. So I separated them, keeping the 2 original girls together sense they are buddies, and keeping the young cockerel with the new girl. My thought process was that if the cockerel accepted the new pullet then he would protect her from the 2 other pullets that are higher in the pecking order. We'll he did accept her somewhat, and when all 4 of them were together again he did seem to try to stop the fighting a bit, but he had no luck. In fact, the 2 more dominant pullets turned on him for a second or 2. Sense then, now even the cockerel is going after my new girl. She is eating and drinking, and after a bit of commotion all 4 of them even even slept together last night. However the cockerel and 2 more dominant pullets are free ranging together and the new girl is still just in the run (with the door open) by herself, only coming out to eat and drink and then quickly runs and hides again. So my question is, is it possible that one or both of my 2 more dominant pullets is actually above the cockerel in the pecking order? Or is my cockerel just young and unaware of how to manage the girls yet? I'm a newbie so all answers and advice are welcome.

 

[donrae]

You're dealing with immature birds, so the pecking order is always fluid. In a mature flock, the male is the boss overall, but he's not part of the hen's hierarchy, he's separate from it. What you've got is a bunch of teenagers all trying to figure out how to get along. Things will change a lot in the next couple months, and should shake up again in the spring when breeding season comes into full force.

 

[towen91]

You're dealing with immature birds, so the pecking order is always fluid. In a mature flock, the male is the boss overall, but he's not part of the hen's hierarchy, he's separate from it. What you've got is a bunch of teenagers all trying to figure out how to get along. Things will change a lot in the next couple months, and should shake up again in the spring when breeding season comes into full force.

so for now I shouldn't be to concerned about much, and just let them all figure it out?

 

[donrae]

Yep. Just like all the drama with middle schoolers.....if no one's getting hurt, leave them be. Make sure everyone's got enough space to get away and they'll work things out.

 

[towen91]

Yep. Just like all the drama with middle schoolers.....if no one's getting hurt, leave them be. Make sure everyone's got enough space to get away and they'll work things out.

Do you have any idea at what age the cockerel should start taking charge? And when he does will there be more pecking order issues with the dominant hen?

 

[donrae]

Usually around 6ish months for production birds. It will just depend on the hen's attitude. Once most of them are reaching point of lay, they're pretty receptive to being mated. I have had a few hens over the years though, that simply don't want to be. With some, it's a specific male. I put her in with another male and she's quite willing. With some, doesn't matter how many males I try, they want none of it.

 

[aart]

Do you have any idea at what age the cockerel should start taking charge? And when he does will there be more pecking order issues with the dominant hen?

At about 4 months old the cockerel will start trying to mate with the immature pullets, he'll be ready a month or two before they will and it may get rough.
Be ready for that with lots of space and places for the pullets to hide 'out if line of sight' and/or up and away from the cockerel.
If he gets too rowdy, drawing blood or incessantly chasing them down, you may have to separate him then.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You’ve been getting good advice. Both Donrae and Aart are good people. It’s hard to add to what they said. That middle school drama comment is so appropriate.

You asked when all this will happen with the cockerel taking over. It depends a whole lot on the individual birds. We can give you trends when this stuff often happens but it really can vary a lot by the individual. Also, you have to have enough chickens for the averages to mean something and with 3 pullets and one cockerel you don’t.

Right now you are dealing with pre-puberty chickens. Things are pretty calm. When puberty hits (it will probably hit the cockerel first) all that normally changes. Hormones start running wild and there are no restraints. The cockerel tries to have his way with the girls and they don’t have a clue what is going on so they resist, normally by running away and trying to avoid him. He is normally bigger than them so if he can catch them he can force them. The mating is not just about sex either, it has a lot to do with flock dominance. His mating them, whether they cooperate or not, has a lot to do with him establishing his dominance. Eventually he will mature enough to gain control of his hormones and the pullets will mature enough to do their part. Things should get really peaceful but this puberty period is often not for the faint of heart to watch. But as long as no one is bleeding or gets seriously injured it is normal. It’s a process they need to go through. You said yours free range. Having all that room helps a lot.

It’s possible yours will not make this process as dramatic as I described, sometimes they don’t. But typically it can get pretty rough.

That cockerel could hit puberty later today. It may take more than two more months to hit. I normally don’t have just one cockerel either, I have several. Typically it hits the first of mine around 14 to 15 weeks but that can really vary by the individual. Some can be a lot later but I don’t know how much that is suppressed by the ones that are active early.

To really take over the flock the cockerel has to mature enough that he wins the respect of the hens. I’ve had a very few do a reasonable job of that at 4 months, I’ve had some take 11 months. Six or more likely seven months is typical. Did I say this stuff varies by the individual?

The pullets normally go through the maturity phase when they start to lay. The cockerel still has to impress the girls enough that he will make a good father so they may not automatically accept his authority when this happens. There is a big difference in cockerels and pullets and roosters and hens.

But all this is in your future. Right now what you are seeing is pretty normal. You have a flock with an outsider. It will take them a little while to get used to each other. Eventually they will but you have the flock picking on her. That is scary to her so she avoids them. Be patient and keep doing what you are doing. Let them work it out as long as she doesn’t start bleeding or show a serious injury. Having enough room so she can avoid them during integration is precious.

Good luck

 

[towen91]

At about 4 months old the cockerel will start trying to mate with the immature pullets, he'll be ready a month or two before they will and it may get rough.
Be ready for that with lots of space and places for the pullets to hide 'out if line of sight' and/or up and away from the cockerel.
If he gets too rowdy, drawing blood or incessantly chasing them down, you may have to separate him then.

I'm still confused as to why the young roo is going after the new girl, same as the other pullets. Even at his young age, shouldn't he have some instincts to protect her? Or at the very least not go after her as well.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Does a nine year old boy have the instincts to protect the nine year old girls he associates with? It will come in time.