Little Rooster, big hens

[CowgirlPenny]

My rooster has gotten on my last nerve. He's got to go. Luckily, I have two more cockerels. They are both about 14 weeks old. Question, how do I introduce them to my hens? They are both big shots and I'm still trying to decide which of the two to keep. They are obviously smaller than my hens (one is a Porcelain d Uccle and the other is a Mille Fleur d' Uccle) my hens are EE, BO, BSL, BA, BR and Production reds.

Do I need to wait until the one I keep is older or will he just assume the Rooster role even though he is smaller? How would 'chicken surfing' work in that department? lol

Will they pick on him or see him as the flock leader? Will he assume the role of leader like a full size? Alerting them to danger, leading them to food,etc. even though he is half their size? lol I guess I just assume the "man" should be bigger, stronger,etc.

I'd like to keep a rooster with them for protection but honestly my current rooster is more trouble than he is worth! Another reason is because my Silkie is slow and docile. My rooster is VERY large and aggressive which is ok with my full size girls (he is not in with my bantams, just the full size hens) but he would most certainly hurt my Silkie, so having a bantam rooster just seems like a better idea since everyone is scheduled to merge their coops together in September. Thoughts?

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I used to have a little japanese bantam roo with my flock of big girls (he shared his harem of mostly BO's and EE's with a silkie roo). They took good care of the girls. They may be picked on at first, that depends really on their age and how assertive their little personalities are. You could separate them in the coop with the ladies so they have some time to get to know each other. And the whole mating thing? I must admit it was pretty hilarious. They got the job done, no doubt about that (I hatched 48 chicks from them last year). When they would mount the hens, it was like they wouldn't even know the little small fries were there. It wasn't uncommon to see the standard girls walking around with a teeney rooster on her back

I say if your current man isn't pulling his weight, kick him to the curb (or the stew pot). There are WAY too many good guys out there to waste your time with a rooster who isn't worth a fart. Good luck!

 

[Mommy2Blaze]

Oh I have to chime in to say my Lil Dude (oegb) is the man around here. I have 3 slw's, 5 red pullets (not sure what breed:/) and one oegb hen that is his mate. He does do the deed with all of them and I laugh so hard. I have also seen Mama (biggest slw) walking around with him on her back. So funny. But they kind of respect him. They don't pick on him and he thinks he is in control of everything although they all really listen to Mama.

 

[CowgirlPenny]

ok, thanks. Good to know!! I guess my biggest fear is that my current rooster protects the girls. They follow his lead and do what he wants, and go where he goes. I hope that they will see the new rooster in that same way even if he is half their size. I was in the smaller coop today where the two bantam roosters are, I picked up an EE pullet and as soon as she protested to being held they both ran out of the coop screaming trying to save her. LOL

I don't care so much about the mating as I have no interest in letting anyone go broody or incubating myself, I just need a good flock protector.