New rooster owner

[abbyness]

I have never owned a rooster before and recently ended up with one in my new batch of chicks. I have 7 hens, 2 are almost 2yrs and the rest are about 13 weeks. He loves to chase one of my older ladies around to mate. Should I be worried or need to separate him from the flock? He also grabs the others by their neck feathers. Is this normal since he is still young or is that too much for the girls? What should I look out for? Is there something I can read about rooster behavior or any advice would be great! I know nothing!

We live out in the woods so I thought keeping him around would be best for predators and he is so sweet with me. It’s just a whole new experience!

 

[TheTwoRoos]

He is young,it is normal.You can always Seperate him if you want to.Keeping roosters is a fun experience,their a little different and pretty darn interesting.

 

[Chickassan]

He's cute! Agree he's normal you can seperate him if he gets to be a pain in the butt to the young ones but the older girls can usually handle themselves.

 

[Folly's place]

I agree about his behavior with the hens and pullets, but what about your interactions? Is he really close to you and staring at you? Please do some reading about managing cockerels, especially beekissed's article. He should not get close and give you the 'stink eye'!
Can you describe how he's being 'sweet'?
Mary

 

[aart]

I thought keeping him around would be best for predators

I wouldn't' count much on that.
If he incessantly chases them, I might isolate him until he's a bit older....or eat him.
Surprised the hen doesn't kick his butt.

 

[Criticalicious]

A rooster best helps with predators by giving the flock early warning. Mine is good at spotting hawks flying overhead. But considering they weigh maybe 6 pounds sopping wet, don't count on them to attack predators. The best they can do is give the hens time to run away and maybe delay a predator.

Grabbing the hen's neck to mate is normal but check your hens regularly for damage. He shouldn't be causing lasting damage or drawing blood from his attentions. If he's trying to mate with pullets less than 16 weeks old or so, I would separate them until the pullets are bigger and can stand up to him.