Mean? or Mother nature?

[ChixPix]

I have a roo that we've taken a liking to. He's a RIR that is 17 weeks old (almost all of the 25 are around this age - we have 6 roosters, and a few are ready for freezer camp soon). He's very friendly to PEOPLE. He comes up and begs for food and when all the other chickens are running away, he's running towards us.

*however*

He's started jumping on the hens and biting the backs of their necks.

Husband says "that's what they do, they are a good rooster"
I say he's being mean and nasty as he did that to a chicken today to steal a bit of food from her. Mind you, when we give treats, he usually gets triple what everyone else gets because he is at the front of the line.

Is this mother nature? Are they supposed to bite like that? Or, is he a candidate for freezerville?
I hate to, he's so beautiful and friendly to us, but I just cringe when I see it happen.

 

[ekemily]

he's probably just showing his dominance and trying to mount them. normal.

 

[Yay Chicks!]

I thought that roosters usually stood back to let the hens eat first. Mind you, I don't have a rooster....but I have read some posts that indicate that behavior.

 

[ekemily]

My rooster lets my girls eat first and does not mount hens when i am in the pen. In fact, he goes and stands off at a distance and pouts. Your roo is young and may need a little bit of "coaxing" on your part with a broom or stick. There is a good thread on here about "training" your rooster. He shouldn't be mounting them in front of you. He needs to realize that the hens are yours.

 

[MaggieRae]

Yay Chicks! :

I thought that roosters usually stood back to let the hens eat first. Mind you, I don't have a rooster....but I have read some posts that indicate that behavior.

Mine didn't start that until he learned the finer points of courting the ladies (which was about twice the age of the bird in question). At 17 weeks, the rooster isn't thinking about protecting the flock because he's not really an 'adult' yet. If you think about weeks in years (or so I've read on here), this roo is like your average 17 year old boy.​

 

[arkansaschicks]

I have an 18 week old buff orpington rooster that is doing the same thing. My other older roosters do not bite at the hens like Charlie does. He is just young and I am hoping he will grow out it! Right now I am keeping him in a seperate pen. When I let him out with everbody else and he acts bad then he gets put back in by himself. Hopefully he will learn if he wants to be with the girls then he is going to have to act right!

 

[speckledhen]

Takes a bit for some to realize that they are supposed to feed the girls first. Yours is still a bit immature.

 

[PhilErvin]

Some would say that your roo is mean but I would say he is doing his job. Wait until he starts attacking you then let's see what YOU SAY.
That being said, I tell folks to watch out for my roo because he is mean but I forgive him because he is such a good protector of his girls.

 

[sourland]

He's a teen ager. His hormones are raging, and he knows he is supposed to do something, but he hasn't figured out how just yet. It is natural not mean. As the pullets mature and become interested in mating everything should smooth out.

 

[gryeyes]

Oh, that's Mother Nature, unfortunately. Fortunately, he should mature in a few months enough to let the girls eat first, and to court them instead of jump 'em. It takes a while. He's just a teenager now, with nothing on his mind but sex, sex, sex, and oh, some more sex. He's at the "sex is friction, friction feels good" stage. When he matures, he'll do a Drop Wing Circle Dance and wait for the ladies to submit by squatting for him.