Normal rooster behavior?

[Mallory8502]

I have 10 hens, a mixed flock of EE's and RIR's ranging from 11 weeks to 14 weeks old. and a cream leg bar rooster that is 15 weeks old and has been raised with the others. He has recently started trying to mate, and the hens are not happy. They don't want to come out of the coop some days because he is harassing them so much. He is awful first thing in the morning but calms down as the day goes on. He has not drawn blood, but he aggressively pounces and won't let up when the hens try to get away from him. I am starting to think he could seriously hurt the hens that are much smaller than him. Most of the hens seem fine hanging around with him when they can free range, but when they are enclosed in their 150 sqft run, which is most of the time, his behavior is definitely worse.

I saw him do the rooster courting dance today, so maybe he will grow out of being so aggressive about mating. He has other good qualities and I would rather not cull him because he seems like a good protector of the flock when free ranging, and at some point I would like to have chicks. I wish I could let him free range all day and keep the hens enclosed for now, but there are a lot of predators. Would it be best to separate him until the hens are ready to lay, or am I overreacting about normal rooster behavior? Unfortunately, separating him is not something I planned for... I have a chicken tractor but I do not feel it is secure enough from predators, especially when I am not home.

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

He's young and full of hormones. Some roosters will make the hens become completely bare on their backs, so be happy he's not the crazy.

If you have a dog kennel, you can lock him up at times if it seems the hens need a break. If you can find some local, older, hens that are cheap I'd even look into them. Whether it's an older rooster or a older hen, young roosters can get a beating from both of them.

My friend took one of my hens whom I adored and didn't want to die, and she was significantly older than her chickens, and her rooster is terrified of the hen.

Of course, if you don't want more hens, I'd just give him some time to mellow out. He's a teenager right now and he has no one disciplining him