Meaning of my Rooster's behavior?

[Bellie816]

Hello all,

Please keep in mind that I am pretty brand new to all of this! I have a Rhode Island Red Rooster that is about 13-14 weeks old. We call him Big Red because he has become the biggest of all the roosters. He has recently started displaying some seemingly aggressive behaviors with the hens in my flock. He will chase them around, grab their necks and pin them to the ground, or pull out a neck feather here or there. Is this normal behavior or something to be concerned about? I am always worried that he will injure one or start feather picking too much. Before he was the smaller of the roosters, but now that he is larger he really seems to be acting like a fool (lol). Any information is appreciated! Thanks!

Jackie

 

[Year of the Rooster]

He is learning to mate with the hens.

 

[Mahonri]

You can always put him in rooster prison till he gets a little older.. (or until your hens do)

 

[Rocky Top Chick]

I have one that does the exact same thing. All the hens hate him and run whenever he comes around. He escaped last light when my DH was having a time out for him and he had to sleep in the woods all night. This am he came back begging to get inside the pen. I am thinking he may have learned a lesson last night. Even through he is a jerk I still worried.

 

[gocrow77]

Perfectly normal mating behavior. Hopefully once he gets the hang of it ( and the hens do too ) he will be a bit more gentle. Mine LF rooster can be pretty rough on the bigger girls, but he is much more gentle with the little banty hens.

 

[onedozenphyllises]

I don't know what the deal is with mine. They're all a year old now, and my roo is still really rough with the hens, and they all hate him. They NEVER go without a struggle. I think he knows it, too. He spends a lot of time by himself and when he calls them over for food they often ignore him.

We had a dog attack a few months ago (our own dogs...grrr!). We lost three hens that day. I wonder if they just don't trust him anymore after that. Sorry - didn't mean to hijack!

In any case, that is normal behavior, especially at their tender age.