Lascivious Chicken Behaviour

[sommrluv]

How young do roosters start..."feeling their oats"?

I have a chick I thought was a hen, she's about 13 weeks I believe....possibly 14. She's never crowed, and she used to have a hatch mate of the same age that made a rooster squak when you picked him up..she doesn't do this.

All her hatemates were killed, and she bullied the replacement chicks I got to keep her company (she's about 3-4 weeks older, but easily twice their size), so she's been braving it on her own with the older girls. Luckily she's growing fast, but they still chase her a bit.

Today she was mating my RIR. Pulling out neck feathers, the whole nine yards. For a little bit, too, lol.

I hesitate to say it's hen on hen dominence, because she's definitely the bottom of the pecking order currently. Is it too young for a Rooster to be doing this? Is Princess really a Prince?

 

[gryeyes]

That's right at the stage for adolescent roo behavior. Without pictures, I couldn't guess at the sex.

 

[sommrluv]

I'll take some today.

I guess I'm not as much asking if she is a he, as much if I'm curious if a chicken that young would do that. That's interesting, though...that it's the time frame.

That won't endear her to any of her bunkmates, lol.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Yes, a rooster of that age can mate if the hen is willing. I have one that has been trying to woo the girls from that age, but they're not having any of it. The man in charge is my other rooster Moose.