Male rooster...son..attacking mother..advice please :)

[AnitaWhite]

Hi all,
I have the sweetest gentle rooster,gov. Chabo and Mother hen Lady . Dutch bantam, had 7 babies whom are now 10.5 weeks old. This morning when I went to feed the family one of the males, Charlie, kept pecking / chasing the mother and pulling feathers. Once I got in between that. Lady would than peck one of her hens she gave birth to...please note these are not gentle loving pecks. After work everyone was set free flying around like crazy filling themselves up. Mother hen follows me around the yard, same baby Charlie comes again and continues to peck her. Her crown looks like it has a few Mark's on it. Bed time comes and I bring all the girls in and father rooster...who is always in fort. Lady does NOT want any of the females on the perch...now picking on all of them. The runt of the litter seemed to crawl under the father rooster to feel safe? I had 2 2x4 roosts beside one another with a 6 inch gap in between as they all seemed to enjoy sleeping together. I installed another 2x4 about 6 feet long a few feet below the top perch. Placed the girls on there. Lasted about 10 seconds until they flew to the top again. Brought the boys in and again charlie is adulting his mother. Sorry this is so long but trying to be detailed. Is is maybe because they were hungry and I remove the food at night? Also please note they all appear to now be the same size...mother hen and father rooster more filled out and bulky of course. Hoping someone can make me feel better or provide suggestions. Once nightfall came everyone is sleeping together on the top perch peacefully! Any advise would be greatly appreciated. I've only ever had 2 birds and they have been a happy family the last 10 weeks. What could be going on? Thank you...worried. xo

 

[lilmillefleur]

Sorry for your trouble. How big is their coop? Not enough space can cause a lot of picking and bullying in flock members.
I would get rid of all but one of your males. Too many roosters can be very stressful on hens and pullets.

 

[azygous]

What I believe you are witnessing is the mother hen in the process of emancipating her ten-week olds. Mother hens can appear to be quite vicious during this period, and the offspring are temporarily confused and stressed.

When you said, "charlie is adulting his mother", did you mean he is attempting to mate her? This would also be expected behavior as cockerels begin maturing before their sisters, begin to see the females with a new interest, and feel the urge to try out new behaviors.

This is all quite normal, but in spite of it being a little upsetting when witnessed for the first time, it's quite transient. Try not to interfere and everyone, you included, will soon adjust to the "teens".

 

[keesmom]

How many of the youngsters are male? How large is the coop?

 

[aart]

When you said, "charlie is adulting his mother", did you mean he is attempting to mate her?

Guessing it's an unedited autospell and really means to be 'assaulting'?

How many of the youngsters are male? How large is the coop?

Ditto Dat^^