Navigating a flock with a new cockerel

[Solanacae]

I ended up with a cockerel among my latest addition of pullets. Mister (originally Maisie) is an Ameraucana (a legit one from a breeder, not an EE like so many seem to be eager to point out about hatchery birds) and getting quite large. He’s 5.5 months, recently started crowing, and has attempted to assert dominance over the older hens to pretty hilarious results - he definitely got put back in his place! He is not aggressive towards me or my kids at this point, and doesn’t seem to be harassing any of the hens or pullets beyond the dominance displays, which he usually loses.

I have two Sultan pullets that I am not sure if I should be concerned about. They are at the bottom of the pecking order, they’re sweet, goofy little things, and generally steer clear of Mister. Still I worry - they are half his size, do I need to be concerned about them being mounted by him? (Also, will he try to mount pullets in general before they start laying?) They’re my girls’ favorites and I would hate for them to be injured.

What should I be on the watch for? I do have a smaller coop with an enclosed run I can put them in if needed, but they are friends with another pullet that’s full size and I don’t want to break them up if I don’t have to. The flock currently has a large fenced area of my yard to roam around in, plenty of places to hide and avoid each other if they so desire.

 

[Perris]

as you have mature hens to teach him how to behave towards females, the prospects are good As long as the little ones you are concerned about have places to run and hide (small gaps that they can run through and he can't are ideal if you can build them in to the arrangement of clutter at strategic points). The puberty phase he's in now is quite short, and when he really starts tidbitting and dancing around the hens, you'll know the new roo order is being established, and hopefully peace will reign in the flock thereafter!

Pullets that are not ready to mate will not squat for a roo, and will object loudly and try to escape if he tries to force them. It's quite rare for a pullet to be seriously harmed in such encounters, even if they look awful from our perspective.

You say the sultans are your girls' favorites; if they pick them up, Mister may misread that as mating behaviour, so I would discourage them from doing so, for a while at least, until his adult personality is assuredly non-aggressive.

I think roos bring a lot of positives to a flock; it's a bit nerve-wracking dealing with your first, but it's worth it in my view; good luck!

 

[Solanacae]

as you have mature hens to teach him how to behave towards females, the prospects are good As long as the little ones you are concerned about have places to run and hide (small gaps that they can run through and he can't are ideal if you can build them in to the arrangement of clutter at strategic points). The puberty phase he's in now is quite short, and when he really starts tidbitting and dancing around the hens, you'll know the new roo order is being established, and hopefully peace will reign in the flock thereafter!

Pullets that are not ready to mate will not squat for a roo, and will object loudly and try to escape if he tries to force them. It's quite rare for a pullet to be seriously harmed in such encounters, even if they look awful from our perspective.

You say the sultans are your girls' favorites; if they pick them up, Mister may misread that as mating behaviour, so I would discourage them from doing so, for a while at least, until his adult personality is assuredly non-aggressive.

I think roos bring a lot of positives to a flock; it's a bit nerve-wracking dealing with your first, but it's worth it in my view; good luck!

Thanks for the reply! Once the Sultans start laying and Mister tries mounting them, so I need to keep an eye out for anything? I’ve heard that large roosters can injure small hens.

How long should I be on the watch for aggression? I mean, I don’t want to leave my littlest out there alone in the run at anytime, but when can I expect him to start settling down out of his raging hormonal teenager phase? I realize it will be different for every rooster, but I’m trying to get a general idea of how to proceed.

 

[Perris]

The only damage my hens have received from the roos is one hen balding (feathers lost) on head and shoulders, from roos hanging on with beak and feet when mating; the other hens are fine, so I think that hen has particularly weak or weakly attached feathers. My very large roo does want and try to mate occasionally, but he's big and lumbering and they all run away; he hasn't squashed anyone yet! But I have read some horror stories on here, so look out for any blood drawn; sharp beaks and claws can rip the hen's skin especially if the protective feathering is lost (my baldy has not suffered such).

He should be through the raging hormone phase it in a month or two, it partly depends on his genes and partly on how effectively your hens discipline him. When you see him tidbitting you'll know you're on the home straight.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I wrote this a few years ago. I call it "Typical mating behavior between mature consenting adults". With a cockerel you don't have consenting adults but it might help you with what you are seeing.

Even with adults it doesn't always work this way. A rooster may not dance. A hen may run away instead of squatting. If she runs the rooster may let her go or he may chase her. If he chases he may quit pretty soon or he may run her down and force her. As far as I'm concerned as long as she winds up squatting and she doesn't get hut it's just chickens being chickens. Some roosters can be brutes and some hens never stop fighting so you do need to pay some attention but I have never had a hen or pullet actually injured because of this.

The rooster dances for a specific hen. He lowers one wing and sort of circles her. This signals his intent.

The hen squats. This gets her body onto the ground so the rooster’s weight goes into the ground through her entire body and not just her legs. That way she can support a much heavier rooster without hurting her joints.

The rooster hops on and grabs the back of her head. The head grab helps him get in the right position to hit the target and helps him to keep his balance, but its major purpose is to tell the hen to raise her tail out of the way to expose the target. A mating will not be successful if she does not raise her tail and expose the target. The head grab is necessary.

The rooster touches vents and hops off. This may be over in the blink of an eye or it may take a few seconds. But when this is over the rooster’s part is done.

The hen then stands up, fluffs up, and shakes. This fluffy shake gets the sperm into a special container inside the hen near where the egg starts its internal journey through her internal egg making factory.

The reason I posted this is your Sultans. Are they bantam or full sized? A mature Ameraucana rooster should weight about 1-1/2 times as much as a mature large fowl Sultan hen and about 4 times as much as a mature bantam Sultan hen. It sounds like yours may not yet be full grown which could mess this comparison up. And not all chickens reach the "ideal" mature weight.

A rooster is generally heavier than hens of the same breed, often by a couple of pounds. Many people have flocks with bantam hens and full sized roosters without a problem. Different bantams and different full sized fowl come in different sizes. The more weight difference between the hen and rooster the more the chance of injury. If your Sultan girls are full sized I would not worry about that size difference at all. If they are bantams and that precious to your kids or you, I'd be a little nervous. Nothing will probably happen but the potential is there. I can't give you guarantees with that much size difference.

 

[Solanacae]

The only damage my hens have received from the roos is one hen balding (feathers lost) on head and shoulders, from roos hanging on with beak and feet when mating; the other hens are fine, so I think that hen has particularly weak or weakly attached feathers. My very large roo does want and try to mate occasionally, but he's big and lumbering and they all run away; he hasn't squashed anyone yet! But I have read some horror stories on here, so look out for any blood drawn; sharp beaks and claws can rip the hen's skin especially if the protective feathering is lost (my baldy has not suffered such).

He should be through the raging hormone phase it in a month or two, it partly depends on his genes and partly on how effectively your hens discipline him. When you see him tidbitting you'll know you're on the home straight.

Thanks!

 

[Solanacae]

I wrote this a few years ago. I call it "Typical mating behavior between mature consenting adults". With a cockerel you don't have consenting adults but it might help you with what you are seeing.

Even with adults it doesn't always work this way. A rooster may not dance. A hen may run away instead of squatting. If she runs the rooster may let her go or he may chase her. If he chases he may quit pretty soon or he may run her down and force her. As far as I'm concerned as long as she winds up squatting and she doesn't get hut it's just chickens being chickens. Some roosters can be brutes and some hens never stop fighting so you do need to pay some attention but I have never had a hen or pullet actually injured because of this.

The rooster dances for a specific hen. He lowers one wing and sort of circles her. This signals his intent.

The hen squats. This gets her body onto the ground so the rooster’s weight goes into the ground through her entire body and not just her legs. That way she can support a much heavier rooster without hurting her joints.

The rooster hops on and grabs the back of her head. The head grab helps him get in the right position to hit the target and helps him to keep his balance, but its major purpose is to tell the hen to raise her tail out of the way to expose the target. A mating will not be successful if she does not raise her tail and expose the target. The head grab is necessary.

The rooster touches vents and hops off. This may be over in the blink of an eye or it may take a few seconds. But when this is over the rooster’s part is done.

The hen then stands up, fluffs up, and shakes. This fluffy shake gets the sperm into a special container inside the hen near where the egg starts its internal journey through her internal egg making factory.

The reason I posted this is your Sultans. Are they bantam or full sized? A mature Ameraucana rooster should weight about 1-1/2 times as much as a mature large fowl Sultan hen and about 4 times as much as a mature bantam Sultan hen. It sounds like yours may not yet be full grown which could mess this comparison up. And not all chickens reach the "ideal" mature weight.

A rooster is generally heavier than hens of the same breed, often by a couple of pounds. Many people have flocks with bantam hens and full sized roosters without a problem. Different bantams and different full sized fowl come in different sizes. The more weight difference between the hen and rooster the more the chance of injury. If your Sultan girls are full sized I would not worry about that size difference at all. If they are bantams and that precious to your kids or you, I'd be a little nervous. Nothing will probably happen but the potential is there. I can't give you guarantees with that much size difference.

The Sultans are the full sized variety and they have a little Polish mixed in (the breeder is working on a colored Sultan project and used Polish at the beginning of the project three years ago) but they’re never going to be huge. I’ll keep an eye on them - one is starting to pink up in the face so sexual maturity is impending. I appreciate your information - I didn’t know that the hen was completely on the ground but that makes sense considering how wobbly it would be if the hen was trying to balance with just her legs with a rooster on top of her.