swtchicmama
Hatching
- Jun 19, 2025
- 1
- 0
- 9
Hello all. New chickie mom here. I have 13. One turned out to be a roo. They were all raised together from day old. I have a mixed flock of bantams and standards. The roo is a bantam and the one hen he picks on is a bantam. The hens are about half and half bantam/standard. No one is laying yet. They are all 19 weeks old.
All the other hens run like hell and squawk loudly when he tries to mate them, but the poor little one he is constantly after is very docile. One time all the larger hens gathered around her so he couldn’t get to her, but that was only once. After he mounts her, she just stays on the ground with her little feet out behind her and doesn’t move for a few minutes. She tries to hide from him a lot, or get into areas where it would be impossible for him to mate.
He is not aggressive and can be held, but he does not “court” any of them, just chases them and tries to grab the back of their necks as they run screeching away. The one little hen is just not fast enough, so she hides.
They are in an 8x18 ft run. And an 8x5 ft coop. We have too many predators to free range. I bought a medium wire dog crate that I’m considering locking him in during the day within the run. I call it roosty jail. Should I separate him for a few weeks/months while his hormones settle down or get rid of him? I wasn’t planning on having a rooster and ordered all hens from Meyers Hatchery, but surprises happen I suppose.
Thanks for your help.
All the other hens run like hell and squawk loudly when he tries to mate them, but the poor little one he is constantly after is very docile. One time all the larger hens gathered around her so he couldn’t get to her, but that was only once. After he mounts her, she just stays on the ground with her little feet out behind her and doesn’t move for a few minutes. She tries to hide from him a lot, or get into areas where it would be impossible for him to mate.
He is not aggressive and can be held, but he does not “court” any of them, just chases them and tries to grab the back of their necks as they run screeching away. The one little hen is just not fast enough, so she hides.
They are in an 8x18 ft run. And an 8x5 ft coop. We have too many predators to free range. I bought a medium wire dog crate that I’m considering locking him in during the day within the run. I call it roosty jail. Should I separate him for a few weeks/months while his hormones settle down or get rid of him? I wasn’t planning on having a rooster and ordered all hens from Meyers Hatchery, but surprises happen I suppose.
Thanks for your help.
