New chicken owner with a rooster

[melehe24]

I have 17 hens and one accidental rooster. I thought I had all hens when they were chicks, but the barred rock turned out to be a rooster. He seems to be a little aggressive now toward the girls, but not toward us. My naked neck hen has an injury and I think he may have been the one to do it. My daughter loves our rooster and doesn't want to part with him. Would it be feasible to put him in his own little coop with his own run....basically a bachelor pad...? They are all almost 4 months old. Any advice is appreciated. I am new to having chickens, and I adore them and want the best for them.

 

[Isaac 0]

Its not unusual for a rooster to attack,mate hens you could separate him. also curious how big is your run your hens need space to be away from him?

 

[ChickenChaser9]

Welcome to BYC! So glad you've decided to raise chickens. It is a rewarding experience. Regarding roosters I have some advice. Regardless of gender, bullying is NOT okay. Mean chickens tend to pass on their aggressive behavior to their offspring. That being said, you should learn to distinguish between an inexperienced and overly amorous attempt to mate and bullying. If you do not WANT baby chicks then you need to separate the young rooster otherwise....babies. IF you isolate your male it should be done in such a way he can still see the hens that way he is not lonely all the time, chickens are social creatures. Best wishes.

 

[Isaac 0]

Keeping a rooster is going to depend on the amount of hens,Space,Aggressiveness of the rooster.My rooster trys to mate my hens 2 or 3 times a day my hens have enough space to get away from him if you don't have enough space i would put the rooster in his own pen

 

[melehe24]

Its not unusual for a rooster to attack,mate hens you could separate him. also curious how big is your run your hens need space to be away from him?

It is a 10x7 run that opens up from their coop, which is 8x8.

 

[melehe24]

Welcome to BYC! So glad you've decided to raise chickens. It is a rewarding experience. Regarding roosters I have some advice. Regardless of gender, bullying is NOT okay. Mean chickens tend to pass on their aggressive behavior to their offspring. That being said, you should learn to distinguish between an inexperienced and overly amorous attempt to mate and bullying. If you do not WANT baby chicks then you need to separate the young rooster otherwise....babies. IF you isolate your male it should be done in such a way he can still see the hens that way he is not lonely all the time, chickens are social creatures. Best wishes.

Thank you for the welcome I do not want chicken babies, so I think he is going to get his own coop and run. I feel guilt over that though because he will be separate from the others. I will definitely put it by the gals though, so he can see them.

 

[Isaac 0]

4 by 4 ft for 1 hen is the rule even though i think that is still small

 

[ChickenChaser9]

You have a lot of birds for a space of that size so they could be acting out for that reason but it sounds like the Roo needs his own bachelor pad in any case. He will be alright as long as he has talk to the girls through the fence and see them. Best wishes.

 

[melehe24]

Run is 8x16, hubby just corrected me.

 

[donrae]

This could be a great opportunity for a life lesson for your daughter.

Yep, she loves the rooster. Now. How about in 2 months, when he's quite aggressive about chasing down the pullets and mating them? When they scream and fight him? Will she still feel so loving toward him?

Is it really in his best interest to live a life of isolation? Chickens are social animals. I don't see how living penned apart from the others is going to be a good life for him. Roosters are designed to lead a flock, protect the hens, find food, mate them, settle squabbles, etc. Living a life of solitary, being able to see the hens but not interact with them, would seem supremely frustrating.

Just because you love an animal does not mean you have the best situation for it.

Depending on the age of your daughter, you can be truthful about the rooster's new home, or not so much if he goes for meat.

I have to say, you're way tight on space, unless you free range. I think at some point you'll run into behavioral issues from overcrowding. Your set up sounds like it would be right for about 8 large fowl birds, and you're at double that. Something to keep in mind for the future. Your birds are little yet, but this winter might bring issues you'll need to address.


I also need to address this....

If you do not WANT baby chicks then you need to separate the young rooster otherwise....babies.

It's simply not true. Birds are way easier to manage their reproduction than mammals. Your rooster can mate the hens to his little heart's content, and yep, your eggs will be fertile. But, no chicks will start to develop until the egg is held around 100 degrees for 3ish days. Simply collect eggs every day or every other day and you'll be fine. You'll never be able to tell the difference between fertile and non-fertile eggs.

That said, I still think you should get rid of the rooster.