Need Breeding Advise

[JacinLarkwell]

Leghprns don't mature any faster sexually than most breeds.....

How old is he now? I have young ones already starting to you with the idea of being father's and they're like 9 weeks

 

[NatJ]

My red & white Roo, I’m calling Big Red these days, seems to be maturing way to fast
...
Yes there was a question in there lol Is this normal, possible, unheard of, I’m crazy, or just it is what it is?

How old is he?

My BF said ‘he can’t be mating he’s too young unless he’s a leghorn.’

Yes, Leghorns mature early as compared with something like a Brahma or an Orpington--but so do many other breeds.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Development with question:

My red & white Roo, I’m calling Big Red these days, seems to be maturing way to fast & it’s causing some arguments between my BF & I as he says ‘it can’t be happening.’ He is crowing & trying to mate with any hen around. I had to separate him & place a barrier between the two pens so he cannot see them. It was the only thing that settled him down.

He broke the tip off his upper beak trying to get to the hens in the other pen. It’s not territorial or anything else. He literally has been trying to mate with even my little bantams. He started a while ago, but at that time I did take it as territory & dominance but upon watching him further & closer, he is trying to mate.

He is too young for this behaviour in some opinions but I am not displacing his behaviour for something else. My BF said ‘he can’t be mating he’s too young unless he’s a leghorn.’ With all the confusion already regarding his breed, I don’t need to think I’ve brought home Frankenstein’s son

Yes there was a question in there lol Is this normal, possible, unheard of, I’m crazy, or just it is what it is?

He’s just a fast maturing cockerel. It’s perfectly normal. If he’s lonely in his pen, you could add a couple cockerels he doesn’t fight with to keep him company.

 

[Arenas Chickens]

I believe he is 7 or 8 weeks old.

he is with three others including the one I brought him home with - the one who’s sex is in question lol. Hen or not Big Red has not tried mounting that one so I left them together & put in a couple other Roos so they aren’t lonely. The fighting & mounting stoped immediately after replacing the hen with the third Roo.

I am concerned because I have to put them outside today/tomorrow where I won’t be able to watch them & I did not want to separate them until it was ‘of that time’ lol so I actually do not have a way to keep them separated out there just yet. I worry there may be casualties with his eagerness.

 

[NatJ]

I believe he is 7 or 8 weeks old.

Crowing at that age is fairly common.

Trying to mate at that age is less common, but I have heard of it before.

Since you're already watching to be sure none get hurt, I cannot think of any other concerns.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Are you positive he wasn't just bullying? I have a little bantams male that would jump onto the large hens backs and try to dominate them

 

[Arenas Chickens]

He has two behavioural traits. I can tell his bullying from the other behaviour I’ve questioned. He can be quite a … cock but it’s distinctive. I am hoping I don’t find any injured birds in the morning, they have all been moved to their outside home this evening.

 

[CoopsNPoops]

The barred one is definitely a cockerel. Non-barred roo x barred hen makes a sex link cross where cockerels are barred and pullets are solid. Since the chick is barred, he must be a cockerel.

The second one looks more like an Easter Egger x Red Sex Link. There's not a hint of barred rock in him.

These are my two Sex Link BRxEE cross boys. One black and one blue. They are 5 weeks old.

 

[CoopsNPoops]

These are my two Sex Link BRxEE cross boys. One black and one blue. They are 5 weeks old.

Shoot. The other two pics didnt post. Here they are..

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I'm not sure if I will help you to feel better or make you worry more, so my apologies ahead of time. I am weak and I have been unable to cull cockerels or roosters (except for 3 jerks that will be gone asap) especially if they're not human aggressive. With so many boys, I let them free range during the day while my girls are in their coops/runs and I swap every one out and put the boys up whenever it's the girls turn to free range. As long as they actually have a large and open free range and can get away from each other, they quickly sorted out their own rules. My Barred Bantam Cochin refuses to back down so I do have to keep him in his own area. He will run from the bigger boys that can beat him up, but he hasn't fully submitted and will attempt to fight at times. If I would leave him out, I'm not sure if he'll end up with injuries or if he'll eventually submit. Both of my Barred roosters are like this and always receive the most attention from the other boys. I'm not sure if my boys just dislike barred boys or if it's the Barred boys unwilling to submit fully.
That's my experience with letting my boys free range together. Well, my Barred Bantam Cochin doesn't free range with the others. I hope this may help some. My tiniest boys also don't free range without supervision. So, that's 9 boys that free range unsupervised, including 2 Silkies (one that is an absolute favorite chicken) and they are in 4 separate flocks. Ages range from 2 years old down to 9 months old. They do well and everyone knows who they need to run from or stand up to. I know it sounds absolutely crazy but it works here (except for those 3 jerks that will be leaving us soon)