Jersey Giant Rooster and small hens UPDATE: still not sure

[NellaBean]

My Jersey Giant rooster is about 22 weeks or so and just finally figured out the whole breeding thing. Today I caught him having a great time with the ladies. Only problem is that his ladies are very small. White leghorns, a small red type girl, buttercups and some younger cochins. He has picked out one of the leghorns and harrassed her multiple times in the couple hours I was out there, along with the red girl.

My question is.....he is HUGE. Will he hurt the girls? There is a Jersey Giant hen in with him but I did not catch him with her at all. I have more girls that are a bit younger (and with their own cockerel) but they are also a small, light breed (andalusians).

How does that work with the BIG roosters and small girls?

 

[Buckguy20]

Well they can certainly break down a hen. Especially if he is very active which sounds like he is.

 

[NellaBean]

Will he calm down a bit as he matures? He has just started showign interest this week and yesterday was the first day I actually saw him getting ahold of them.

anyone else have any experience with this? I guess it would be the same as a standard roo on bantam hens?

 

[wildorchid053]

so far mine has been going after one out of all of them.. he seems to have picked her as his favorite and wont touch the others.. we keep an eye on her to make sure she is not hurt.. if he gets too rowdy we will seperate him from the hens and let him in once in a while to do his stuff. otherwise they all sleep together when it dark. but during the day.. they take turns. girls free range . boy in run.. boy freerange. girls in run... funny how they don't like to be seperated

 

[computer_chicken]

My Roo has gotten to the stage of wanting to breed with my Buff Orphs. But I have noticed that the back of the necks are being pecked to the point the skin is showing on one hen in particular. Is there anything I can do to protect the hens from becoming injured?

 

[NellaBean]

Well, I figured I would let it go a few days and keep an eye on everybody. Came out to lock the chickens up tonight to a badly injured hen...one of the smaller ones that seems to be one of his favorites. I don't think she is going to make it

Since 13 of my 14 girls are smaller breeds, I need to find a new home for the Giant Rooster. He is a nice enough guy, just too big for my girls. Looks like some sort of back or neck injury to the one today, no doubt from him breeding her. I heard one of the chickens really squawking up a storm when I was going out to put them away and then found her injured. She was fine 2 hours prior when I threw some food out to them.

She was my favorite

It could be something unrelated of course, but that would be too coincidental I think and after this, not worth the risk to the other girls. I have two other young smaller breed cockerels that can replace him regardless

 

[Master S.M.C]

well, im not sure about that either because i to have jg roosters. Compared to the hens they are massive and they have turned showable hens in to pet quality stock

 

[aestus_lux]

My flock is pretty mixed, my 2 dominant roosters are mixed red guys, complete mutts, but gorgeous. I have some large and standard hens and several smaller ones such as silkies and a lil jap. MY big roosters breed them all, and I never really have issues with bare backs or anything else, they are 24-7 free range, which probably helps. I recently got a lil flock of brown cochin mix bantams, and while my dominant roo's won't allow their similar brother near the hens, they seem to accept the new tiny rooster. They even let him gaurd the 2 hens with their 16 chicks. In the soap opera type life of my chickens, it was the second-in command roo that got that position when the moms were reintroduced, it's so odd seeing the the new tiny roo intergrate into the flock in that capacity, his lil hens have no interest in joining the flock, and over the years, typically it's the opposite, new hens seek to join the existing flock, and new roosters are pushed out.

 

[NellaBean]

Well I am back with another dilemma! Turns out my injured girl was not injured from the rooster. Long story.....I have been keeping him separate these last few days regardless. Leaving him in the big yard and all the girls in their coop and run. A few of the girls have flown out to hang out with him without any major problems.

I wish he wasn't interested in the smaller girls....if so, I would just buy a group of big girls to add to the flock. As it is, he has ignored the jersey giant pullet so far, to go after the little ones.

But after having to handle all three of the cockerels I have....I just really prefer this giant rooster. The blue andalusian is going to go bye bye completely and I am going to attempt to keep the big RIR cockerel. he is pretty wimpy, but I wish he would step up and knock the giant guy down a step and keep him away from the smaller girls. Not likely, but that would be best case scenario. As it is, he screams when anyone pecks him or if I try to handle him. Little wimp.

Seems like mixed responses....some people have large roosters with small hens no problem, some people have problems.

Is there any chance he will start going after ALL the girls as he gets older, and not just a few? Maybe spread the love around a bit?

 

[pipermark]

Some hens are very compliant , it will seem like the roosters are "picking" on them ,but they are not, they are simply taking advantage of a sure thing.

I have a blue New Jersey Giant hen that as soon as she flies down from the tree, she squats, all the roosters pile on, needless to say her lower back is bear.

All the other hens squat sometimes , other times they run away. They do fine.