My rooster is a perv!

[Amina]

Up til now, my rooster has been a pretty decent guy, and he has 4 adult hens in his little harem. He has been gentle with the hens and has done a great job warning the flock if he sees a hawk.

I recently added five chicks (three pullets and two cockerels) to the flock, and the adults were getting along fine with them. These chicks are between 9 and 10 weeks old. A couple days ago, when I went to put out some fresh water, my smallest pullet was standing next to the water and she was all puffed up, looking miserable. I decided right then to bring her into the garage to try to figure out the problem and hopefully nurse her back to health. But before I could open the run door to grab her, my huge marans rooster came up and danced around her and pecked her head. She just continued standing there all puffed up. She obviously wasn't feeling good, but she also didn't seem to understand that she should run away. So he then forced himself on her as she screamed. I got her out of there and into the garage, and as of two days later, she seems to be doing better than she was, although she is still not quite acting like herself. I can't find any obvious injuries on her, but with that size difference, it would not surprise me if he has injured her and that's why she's acting this way.

That being said, that this particular pullet has never been quite normal. When she first hatched, she was very shaky and weak for a few days to the point that she couldn't eat or drink. I ended up syringe feeding her, which seemed to make her perk up, and then she started eating and drinking on her own and things seemed like they would be fine. She was active and energetic, but remained smaller than the others from her hatch. Even so, somehow her behaviors up til now have seemed a little odd, like she doesn't understand hardly any chicken social cues.

I haven't seen my rooster behave like this with the other two young pullets, but now I don't trust him not to hurt them too.

Does it sound like my rooster is a hopeless perv? Or could he be behaving oddly because this pullet is odd? I can't decide whether to get rid of him... I like him a lot but I don't want him being a danger to my other chickens. Does it sound like I should get rid of him?

 

[bobbi-j]

Honestly, it sounds more like you need to get rid of the pullet. You certainly don't want to be breeding her. It sounds like she's weak, and maybe the "runt of the litter". You don't want to continue those traits in your flock. I seriously doubt your rooster hurt her when he bred her. You know they don't penetrate when breeding, right? I think your rooster is acting that way with her because she's weak. Chicken society isn't pretty. They will take out a weaker member of the flock. Not always, but it can happen.

 

[Amina]

Yeah, I will definitely not be keeping and breeding that one pullet. I'm not sure what to do with her quite yet, but my concern with the rooster is really for my other two pullets that I do want to keep. I don't know if he might start acting the same way with them and maybe hurt them too. I really don't want that to happen.

I know they don't penetrate when they breed, but there is so much size difference between the rooster and the pullets that I don't know if he could hurt them just by jumping on them over and over. You don't think so?

 

[aart]

Agrees with bobbi-j.....chickens will try to 'remove' a sick or weak flock member.

I'd get rid of the sick chick......a mature rooster generally won't try to mate a sexually immature pullet.

 

[donrae]

Agree with the above posters. He's actually being a good flock leader and keeping his flock healthy. He can tell this bird is not a healthy flock member. Pull her out and I'm thinking your flock will settle down....at least til those two new cockerels hit maturity. That could sure cause some issues, not sure what your plan is there.

 

[bobbi-j]

Agree with the above posters. He's actually being a good flock leader and keeping his flock healthy. He can tell this bird is not a healthy flock member. Pull her out and I'm thinking your flock will settle down....at least til those two new cockerels hit maturity. That could sure cause some issues, not sure what your plan is there.

There is that, too. Do you have a plan for them? Once they mature, there is a strong possibility that there will be fighting, or at least a lot of scuffles as the males all try to establish dominance and breeding rights. And your girls will likely be run ragged. When I had too many roosters (until I put the extras in a bachelor pen), my poor hens and pullets could hardly eat or drink or rest because one male or another was chasing and trying to breed them. You are going to need to watch your flock to make sure the girls aren't being stressed by too much attention from the males, and you should start thinking now about what you plan to do when that happens. You'll either have to separate them, or someone may have to find a new home.

 

[Amina]

Thanks for the input, everyone! The cockerels will become dinner in a few weeks, so I'm not too concerned about that part. I still have to figure out what to do with this sick pullet, though. I do agree that even if she recovers, she should not be part of the flock long-term and potentially breed. If I'm being logical, I guess euthanasia is the best option here.

I'm just not sure whether my two healthy pullets are safe around my rooster, considering what happened to this other pullet. It does put me more at ease knowing that everyone thinks this is normal behavior from him, considering the situation. So maybe it is safe to have the two healthy pullets in a flock with that rooster...

 

[donrae]

Your other Pullets should be just fine. If he were going to have issues with them, I think it would have happened by now. They've already been with him several days, right?

 

[Amina]

Yeah, the newbies have been in with the flock for a while now. After this whole thing happened, I ended up euthanizing the sick pullet, and I separated the rooster from the flock for a few days. Last night I had some time to observe them, so I let everyone free range including the rooster. He mated with the adult hens each about 3-4 times in the space of an hour (dang that's a lot!) but he ignored the pullets. So he's back with the flock, and I'm feeling much better about the whole thing now! Thanks everyone!

 

[aart]

There ya go!
Seeing is believing ...I find observing their behaviors fascinating, it's amazing how small things can make a significant difference very quickly.